NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2026-53495: containerd CRI ExecSync Goroutine Leak Leading to Node-Level Denial of Service

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 27/100)

The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.16% (FIRST EPSS).
Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
Fixed version: azl3 containerd2 2.2.4-8 on Azure Linux 3.0 2.3.4-1; azl3 containerd2 2.3.4-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 2.3.7-1; azl3 moby-containerd-cc 1.7.7-17 on Azure Linux 3.0 1.7.7-19.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to azl3 containerd2 2.2.4-8 on Azure Linux 3.0 2.3.4-1; azl3 containerd2 2.3.4-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 2.3.7-1; azl3 moby-containerd-cc 1.7.7-17 on Azure Linux 3.0 1.7.7-19 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

containerd is an open-source container runtime. Prior to 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5, containerd on Linux with the CRI plugin enabled can indefinitely block the drainExecSyncIO goroutine in internal/cri/server/container_execsync.go when CRI ExecSync is used by exec probes or lifecycle hooks that launch long-lived background child processes retaining standard input and output pipes. The input and output drain phase has no default timeout and did not stop when the request context was canceled, so repeated ExecSync invocations can accumulate blocked goroutines and host memory. The resulting resource exhaustion can cause the OOM killer to terminate containerd, leaving the container runtime unavailable until restart. Deployments not using containerd's CRI implementation and containers not running on Linux are not affected. This issue is fixed in versions 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5.

MediumCVSS 6.8 · v4.0—No exploit Fix available

Denial of service

Published: Sep 14, 2026
Updated: Sep 25, 2026
EPSS: 0.1% · 5th percentile
CWE: CWE-400

Report tools

JSON

Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 27 / 40 · 6.8 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical impact: partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD: —
CNA · GitHub_M: 6.8; NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
No public exploit code on record
A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

We use this product, ask for help

Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

—

Using containerd? Add it to your stack and be the first to know about CVEs like this one. (Docker)

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

containerd containerd
- < 1.7.35, >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.12, >= 2.2.0, < 2.2.8, >= 2.3.0, < 2.3.5affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

Ecosystem	Package	Affected range	Fix
Alpine:v3.24	containerd	before 2.3.5-r0	2.3.5-r0
Debian:12	containerd	from 0	—
Debian:14	containerd	before 2.1.9+ds1-4	2.1.9+ds1-4
Go	github.com/containerd/containerd	before 1.7.35	1.7.35
Go	github.com/containerd/containerd/v2	from 2.2.0 · before 2.2.8	2.2.8
Go	github.com/containerd/containerd/v2	from 2.3.0 · before 2.3.5	2.3.5
Go	github.com/containerd/containerd/v2	before 2.0.12	2.0.12
openSUSE:Leap 16.0	govulncheck-vulndb	before 0.0.20260916T180043-160000.1.1	0.0.20260916T180043-160000.1.1
openSUSE:Leap 16.0	hauler	before 2.1.1-bp160.1.1	2.1.1-bp160.1.1
openSUSE:Leap 16.0	trivy	before 0.74.0-160000.3.1	0.74.0-160000.3.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweed	containerd	before 2.4.2-1.1	2.4.2-1.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweed	hauler	before 2.1.0-4.1	2.1.0-4.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweed	trivy	before 0.75.0-1.1	0.75.0-1.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0	govulncheck-vulndb	before 0.0.20260916T180043-160000.1.1	0.0.20260916T180043-160000.1.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5	containerd	before 1.7.29-16.119.1	1.7.29-16.119.1
SUSE:Linux Micro 6.1	containerd	before 1.7.29-slfo.1.1_5.1	1.7.29-slfo.1.1_5.1

Same product

containerd: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2026-95837containerd CRI plugin: Checkpoint restore bypasses destination security context
31Monitor
CVE-2026-53493Containerd has image-pull DoS via crafted OCI index graph amplification
27Monitor
CVE-2026-95838containerd: Unpack DoS via repeated opaque whiteouts
18Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / package	Fixed version	Source
azl3 containerd2 2.2.4-8 on Azure Linux 3.0	2.3.4-1	Microsoft (MSRC)
azl3 containerd2 2.3.4-1 on Azure Linux 3.0	2.3.7-1 · Release Notes	Microsoft (MSRC)
azl3 moby-containerd-cc 1.7.7-16 on Azure Linux 3.0	—	Microsoft (MSRC)
azl3 moby-containerd-cc 1.7.7-17 on Azure Linux 3.0	1.7.7-19 · Release Notes	Microsoft (MSRC)
azl3 moby-containerd-cc 1.7.7-19 on Azure Linux 3.0	1.7.7-19 · Release Notes	Microsoft (MSRC)
alpine:containerd	2.3.5-r0 · Alpine:v3.24	Package registry (OSV)
debian:containerd	2.1.9+ds1-4 · Debian:14	Package registry (OSV)
Go:github.com/containerd/containerd	1.7.35	Package registry (OSV)
Go:github.com/containerd/containerd/v2	2.0.12	Package registry (OSV)
Go:github.com/containerd/containerd/v2	2.2.8	Package registry (OSV)
Go:github.com/containerd/containerd/v2	2.3.5	Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:containerd	2.4.2-1.1 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed	Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:govulncheck-vulndb	0.0.20260916T180043-160000.1.1 · openSUSE:Leap 16.0	Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:hauler	2.1.0-4.1 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed	Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:trivy	0.74.0-160000.3.1 · openSUSE:Leap 16.0	Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:trivy	0.75.0-1.1 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed	Package registry (OSV)
suse:containerd	1.7.29-slfo.1.1_5.1 · SUSE:Linux Micro 6.1	Package registry (OSV)
suse:govulncheck-vulndb	0.0.20260916T180043-160000.1.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 16.0	Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

CVE-2026-5349310 days apartContainerd has image-pull DoS via crafted OCI index graph amplification
27Monitor
CVE-2026-9583828 days apartcontainerd: Unpack DoS via repeated opaque whiteouts
18Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
A low-privileged account is enough.
No user action is required.
No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability

Attack vector: Local
Attack complexity: Low
Privileges required: Low
User interaction: None
Scope: X

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-400 · Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

nvd-secondary

Root cause

Code that parses nested structures sets no depth or size limit. A small input can turn into a disproportionate processing load.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-400 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

1function expand(node) {
2  return node.children.map(expand);
3}

Fixed

1const MAX_DEPTH = 32;
2function expand(node, depth = 0) {
3  if (depth > MAX_DEPTH) throw new Error("too deep");
4  return node.children.map((c) => expand(c, depth + 1));
5}

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

Endpoint Denial of ServiceT1499

Change log

Fix✗ → ✓Sep 28, 2026, 10:07 PM UTC

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/22ccf4314d1fe0834f8e28f10d37d5305ef9880c

Show all references (8 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records