GHSA-PG57-6JWG-Q645
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-09-25 19:27 – Updated: 2026-09-25 19:27Impact
A vulnerability exists in containerd's image pull handlers where a crafted OCI image index containing deeply nested or heavily fanned-out descriptor graphs can cause unbounded CPU and memory consumption. During the PullImage operation, the recursive traversal and processing of child descriptors lack sufficient depth and breadth limits, and fail to adequately deduplicate identical descriptors. This unbounded traversal leads to excessive resource allocation.
Consequently, pulling a malicious image reference can result in prolonged stalls during container creation and significant resource pressure on the host system. This issue occurs entirely during the image pull phase, prior to any container execution.
Patches
This bug has been fixed in containerd 2.4.1, 2.3.6, 2.2.9, 2.0.13, and 1.7.36. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue.
Workarounds
There are no known workarounds for this issue. Users are advised to only pull trusted images from known registries until the patch can be applied.
Credits
The containerd project would like to thank Jakub Ciolek at ElevenLabs and @jlgore who independently discovered and responsibly disclosed this issue in accordance with the containerd security policy.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in containerd
- Email us at security@containerd.io
To report a security issue in containerd: * Report a new vulnerability * Email us at security@containerd.io
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "2.0.0"
},
{
"fixed": "2.0.13"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 1.7.35"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "github.com/containerd/containerd"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.7.36"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "2.1.0"
},
{
"fixed": "2.2.9"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "2.3.0"
},
{
"fixed": "2.3.6"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "2.4.0"
},
{
"fixed": "2.4.1"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
],
"versions": [
"2.4.0"
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-53493"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-400",
"CWE-770",
"CWE-834"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-09-25T19:27:59Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2026-09-25T01:16:48Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "### Impact\n\nA vulnerability exists in containerd\u0027s image pull handlers where a crafted OCI image index containing deeply nested or heavily fanned-out descriptor graphs can cause unbounded CPU and memory consumption. During the `PullImage` operation, the recursive traversal and processing of child descriptors lack sufficient depth and breadth limits, and fail to adequately deduplicate identical descriptors. This unbounded traversal leads to excessive resource allocation.\n\nConsequently, pulling a malicious image reference can result in prolonged stalls during container creation and significant resource pressure on the host system. This issue occurs entirely during the image pull phase, prior to any container execution.\n\n### Patches\n\nThis bug has been fixed in containerd 2.4.1, 2.3.6, 2.2.9, 2.0.13, and 1.7.36. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nThere are no known workarounds for this issue. Users are advised to only pull trusted images from known registries until the patch can be applied.\n\n### Credits\n\nThe containerd project would like to thank Jakub Ciolek at ElevenLabs and @jlgore who independently discovered and responsibly disclosed this issue in accordance with the [containerd security policy](https://github.com/containerd/project/blob/main/SECURITY.md).\n\n### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n\n* Open an issue in [containerd](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/issues/new/choose)\n* Email us at [security@containerd.io](mailto:security@containerd.io)\n\nTo report a security issue in containerd:\n* [Report a new vulnerability](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/new)\n* Email us at [security@containerd.io](mailto:security@containerd.io)",
"id": "GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645",
"modified": "2026-09-25T19:27:59Z",
"published": "2026-09-25T19:27:59Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53493"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/4f5f32636d47f051751065cf824a10da70c619fe"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/94e83c14c8aac963e24e28105dab9c9af812a2a8"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v1.7.36"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.0.13"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.2.9"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.3.6"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.4.1"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
"type": "CVSS_V4"
}
],
"summary": "Containerd has image-pull DoS via crafted OCI index graph amplification"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
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