GitHub Advisoryadvisory · Go
GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645 Containerd has image-pull DoS via crafted OCI index graph amplification
MEDIUM
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-53493
- Ecosystem
- Go
- Packages
- github.com/containerd/containerd/v2, github.com/containerd/containerd
- Severity
- Moderate
- CVSS vector
- 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
- Weaknesses
- CWE-400, CWE-770, CWE-834
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-25
Affected packages
• Go github.com/containerd/containerd/v2: >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.13 → fixed in 2.0.13
• Go github.com/containerd/containerd: < 1.7.36 → fixed in 1.7.36
• Go github.com/containerd/containerd/v2: >= 2.1.0, < 2.2.9 → fixed in 2.2.9
• Go github.com/containerd/containerd/v2: >= 2.3.0, < 2.3.6 → fixed in 2.3.6
• Go github.com/containerd/containerd/v2: >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.1 → fixed in 2.4.1
Description
Impact
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 [email protected]
To report a security issue in containerd:
• Report a new vulnerability
• Email us at [email protected]
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-53493 containerd is an open-source container runtime. vulnerability
References
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645 web
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53493 advisory
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/4f5f32636d47f051751065cf824a10da70c619fe web
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/94e83c14c8aac963e24e28105dab9c9af812a2a8 web
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd package
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v1.7.36 web
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.0.13 web
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.2.9 web
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.3.6 web
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.4.1 web