CVE-2026-94603
Received Received - Intake

Podman Container Checkpoint Bypass via Annotation

Publication date: 2026-10-13

Last updated on: 2026-10-13

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
Podman is a tool for managing OCI containers and pods. From 4.4.0 until 5.8.8 and 6.1.3, podman run treats an image carrying the io.podman.annotations.checkpoint.runtime.name annotation as a checkpoint and silently ignores user-supplied container creation restrictions such as --cap-drop=ALL, allowing image-controlled checkpoint state to select weaker sandbox settings and capabilities. Rootless containers are not affected because checkpoint and restore are unavailable in that mode. This issue is fixed in versions 5.8.8 and 6.1.3.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-13
Last Modified
2026-10-13
Generated
2026-10-13
AI Q&A
2026-10-13
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-94603
EUVD
EUVD-2026-98929

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 2 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
podman-container-tools podman >= 4.4.0, < 5.8.8
podman-container-tools podman >= 6.0.0, < 6.1.3

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-693 The product does not use or incorrectly uses a protection mechanism that provides sufficient defense against directed attacks against the product.

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Executive Summary

Podman versions 4.4.0 to 5.8.8 and 6.1.3 have a flaw where the 'podman run' command treats images with the 'io.podman.annotations.checkpoint.runtime.name' annotation as a checkpoint. This causes it to ignore user-specified container restrictions like '--cap-drop=ALL', allowing the image to control weaker sandbox settings and capabilities. Rootless containers are unaffected as checkpoint and restore are disabled in that mode.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, check the Podman version installed on your system. Run 'podman version' and compare it against versions 5.8.8, 6.1.3, or later. If your version falls between 4.4.0 and 5.8.7 or is 6.1.0 to 6.1.2, the system is vulnerable.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass container security restrictions set by users, potentially gaining elevated privileges or accessing sensitive resources. Systems running affected Podman versions could be compromised if malicious images are used.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Podman to version 5.8.8, 6.1.3, or later immediately. Use your package manager to update, e.g., 'sudo apt-get upgrade podman' or 'sudo dnf upgrade podman'. Avoid running untrusted images with the io.podman.annotations.checkpoint.runtime.name annotation.

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