CVE-2026-15801
Description
A vulnerability was found in CRI-O related to the container checkpoint and restore feature. When CRI-O is configured to restore containers from checkpoint archives, insufficient validation of restore metadata may allow a user with sufficient privileges to perform unintended operations on the host filesystem. Successful exploitation requires that container checkpoint and restore functionality is enabled, which is not the default configuration. An attacker must also be able to trigger restoration of a container from untrusted checkpoint content.
Statement
This issue is classified as Moderate severity for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform primarily because: 1. Container checkpoint and restore is not enabled by default in CRI-O/OpenShift and requires explicit configuration to be active. 2.Exploitation requires the ability to initiate container restoration using attacker-influenced checkpoint content, which in typical OpenShift deployments implies highly privileged access to node-level interfaces (for example, access associated with kubelet or CRI-O socket operations). 3. While the theoretical impact on an affected node could be significant, the combination of non-default feature enablement and high privilege prerequisites reduces practical exploitability in standard OpenShift hardening models.
Mitigation
Until the relevant CRI-O/OpenShift security updates are available, this issue can be mitigated by implementing one or more of the following measures: 1. Do not enable container checkpoint and restore functionality unless it is explicitly required for your environment. 2. Restrict permissions to create workloads and to access node-level container runtime interfaces to trusted administrators only. 3. Do not restore containers from untrusted or unverified checkpoint sources.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 8 | N/A | 8 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | High | N/A | High |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Changed | N/A | Changed |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
The attacker may be able to create or overwrite critical files that are used to execute code, such as programs or libraries.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Files or Directories
The attacker may be able to overwrite or create critical files, such as programs, libraries, or important data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, appending a new account at the end of a password file may allow an attacker to bypass authentication.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories
The attacker may be able read the contents of unexpected files and expose sensitive data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, by reading a password file, the attacker could conduct brute force password guessing attacks in order to break into an account on the system.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
The attacker may be able to overwrite, delete, or corrupt unexpected critical files such as programs, libraries, or important data. This may prevent the product from working at all and in the case of protection mechanisms such as authentication, it has the potential to lock out product users.
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