CVE-2025-4437
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-08-20

Last updated on: 2025-08-20

Assigner: Red Hat, Inc.

Description
There's a vulnerability in the CRI-O application where when container is launched with securityContext.runAsUser specifying a non-existent user, CRI-O attempts to create the user, reading the container's entire /etc/passwd file into memory. If this file is excessively large, it can cause the a high memory consumption leading applications to be killed due to out-of-memory. As a result a denial-of-service can be achieved, possibly disrupting other pods and services running in the same host.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-08-20
Last Modified
2025-08-20
Generated
2026-05-27
AI Q&A
2025-08-20
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-25
NVD
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
redhat cri-o *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-770 The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability occurs in the CRI-O application when a container is launched with securityContext.runAsUser specifying a user that does not exist. CRI-O then tries to create this user by reading the entire /etc/passwd file from the container into memory. If this file is very large, it can cause high memory consumption, potentially leading to out-of-memory conditions and causing applications to be killed.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

The vulnerability can lead to a denial-of-service (DoS) condition by consuming excessive memory, which may cause applications to be terminated. This disruption can affect not only the targeted container but also other pods and services running on the same host, potentially impacting availability and stability of your containerized environment.


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