containerd up to 1.6.37/1.7.26/2.0.3 UID:GID integer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in containerd up to 1.6.37/1.7.26/2.0.3. It has been rated as problematic. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality. This manipulation of the argument UID:GID causes integer overflow. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2024-40635. It is possible to launch the attack on the local host. There is not any exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in containerd up to 1.6.37/1.7.26/2.0.3. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown function. The manipulation of the argument UID:GID with an unknown input leads to a integer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-190. The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound, when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This can introduce other weaknesses when the calculation is used for resource management or execution control. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

containerd is an open-source container runtime. A bug was found in containerd prior to versions 1.6.38, 1.7.27, and 2.0.4 where containers launched with a User set as a `UID:GID` larger than the maximum 32-bit signed integer can cause an overflow condition where the container ultimately runs as root (UID 0). This could cause unexpected behavior for environments that require containers to run as a non-root user. This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.6.38, 1.7.27, and 2.04. As a workaround, ensure that only trusted images are used and that only trusted users have permissions to import images.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2024-40635 since 07/08/2024. The exploitation appears to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. The exploitation needs additional levels of successful authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 233698 (Amazon Linux 2 : containerd (ALASNITRO-ENCLAVES-2025-051)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 1.6.38, 1.7.27 or 2.0.4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 05044ec0a9a75232cad458027ca83437aae3f4da is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (233698) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1439). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• SUSE Linux
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Virtualization Software

Name

• containerd

Version

• 1.6.0
• 1.6.1
• 1.6.2
• 1.6.3
• 1.6.4
• 1.6.5
• 1.6.6
• 1.6.7
• 1.6.8
• 1.6.9
• 1.6.10
• 1.6.11
• 1.6.12
• 1.6.13
• 1.6.14
• 1.6.15
• 1.6.16
• 1.6.17
• 1.6.18
• 1.6.19
• 1.6.20
• 1.6.21
• 1.6.22
• 1.6.23
• 1.6.24
• 1.6.25
• 1.6.26
• 1.6.27
• 1.6.28
• 1.6.29
• 1.6.30
• 1.6.31
• 1.6.32
• 1.6.33
• 1.6.34
• 1.6.35
• 1.6.36
• 1.6.37
• 1.7.0
• 1.7.1
• 1.7.2
• 1.7.3
• 1.7.4
• 1.7.5
• 1.7.6
• 1.7.7
• 1.7.8
• 1.7.9
• 1.7.10
• 1.7.11
• 1.7.12
• 1.7.13
• 1.7.14
• 1.7.15
• 1.7.16
• 1.7.17
• 1.7.18
• 1.7.19
• 1.7.20
• 1.7.21
• 1.7.22
• 1.7.23
• 1.7.24
• 1.7.25
• 1.7.26
• 2.0.0
• 2.0.1
• 2.0.2
• 2.0.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/containerd/containerd/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Discussion