CVE-2026-44210

Critical

Description

Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Versions prior to 3.31.0 ship with a default configuration that allows pod creators to inject arbitrary command-line arguments into the virtiofsd process through the `io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.virtio_fs_extra_args` pod annotation. By injecting `-o source=/` along with `--no-announce-submounts` and `--sandbox=none`, an attacker can override the virtiofsd shared directory to serve the entire host root filesystem into the guest VM. Combined with the `kernel_params` annotation (also enabled by default) to activate the agent debug console, the attacker can mount the host filesystem from inside the VM and read or write any file on the host, including /etc/shadow. Version 3.31.0 patches the issue.

SeverityCritical
CVSS9.9
Exploit probability—
ProductKatacontainers Kata Containers
PublishedJul 23, 2026
First seenJul 23, 2026
Weakness typeCWE-88CWE-88

How to fix

Update
  • katacontainers kata_containers3.31.0 or later
  • github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers0.0.0-20260519062212-ffa59ce3aa78 or later

Affected products

ProductAffected versionsFixed in
katacontainers kata_containersv < 3.31.03.31.0
github.com/kata-containers/kata-containersGov < 0.0.0-20260519062212-ffa59ce3aa780.0.0-20260519062212-ffa59ce3aa78

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