CVE-2022-2995 in CRI-O
Summary
by MITRE • 09/20/2022
Incorrect handling of the supplementary groups in the CRI-O container engine might lead to sensitive information disclosure or possible data modification if an attacker has direct access to the affected container where supplementary groups are used to set access permissions and is able to execute a binary code in that container.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-2995 represents a critical flaw in the CRI-O container engine's management of supplementary groups within containerized environments. This issue stems from improper handling of group permissions that can potentially expose sensitive information or enable unauthorized data modification when an attacker gains direct access to a container where supplementary groups are employed for access control. The flaw specifically impacts container security boundaries and privilege escalation mechanisms within Kubernetes and other container orchestration platforms that utilize CRI-O as their container runtime.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in how CRI-O processes and validates supplementary group identifiers when creating or managing container processes. When containers are launched with specific supplementary groups, the engine should properly isolate these group memberships from the host system and maintain strict access controls. However, the flawed implementation allows for potential information leakage through improper group membership handling or enables attackers to manipulate group permissions in ways that could bypass intended security controls. This misconfiguration creates a pathway for privilege escalation where an attacker with code execution capabilities within a container could leverage the faulty group handling to access resources beyond their intended scope.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-2995 extends beyond simple information disclosure to encompass potential data modification capabilities within affected environments. Containers that rely on supplementary groups for access control are particularly vulnerable, as the flaw could allow attackers to modify files or data that should be restricted to specific group memberships. This vulnerability affects containerized applications where group-based permissions are critical for maintaining data integrity and access control boundaries. Organizations running containerized workloads using CRI-O may experience unauthorized access to sensitive data, potential privilege escalation to higher-privileged processes, or unauthorized modification of containerized application data that should be protected by group membership restrictions.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the ATT&CK framework, particularly under the privilege escalation and defense evasion tactics where improper group handling can be leveraged to maintain access or move laterally within containerized environments. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-276, which addresses improper privileges, and CWE-250, which covers execution with insecure privileges. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of CRI-O, reviewing container group membership configurations, and implementing additional monitoring for suspicious group membership changes within container environments. Additionally, security teams should consider implementing container runtime security controls that monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts and validate group membership integrity in containerized applications. The remediation approach should include comprehensive testing of container group handling mechanisms and validation of access controls to ensure that supplementary group permissions are properly enforced and isolated from unauthorized access patterns.