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.
Published: 2026-09-21
Score: 8 High
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: Host filesystem compromise via privileged container checkpoint restore
Action: Apply patch
AI Analysis

Impact

A vulnerability exists in CRI‑O's checkpoint‑and‑restore feature, where insufficient validation of restore metadata allows a privileged user to perform unintended operations on the host filesystem. The flaw can enable unauthorized reading, modification, or deletion of host files, effectively granting the attacker control over the host. The attack requires the feature to be enabled and a container to be restored from untrusted checkpoint content.

Affected Systems

The affected product is Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4, which includes the CRI‑O runtime. Any installation that has checkpoint‑and‑restore enabled is susceptible. No specific component versions are listed beyond the platform suite.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 8.0 classifies the vulnerability as high severity, and the EPSS score is not available, indicating no known exploitation probability in the data set. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, suggesting no confirmed, widely disseminated exploitation. The likely attack vector is an attacker with sufficient privileges to trigger the restore of a container from an untrusted checkpoint, which is not the default configuration.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on September 21, 2026 at 09:21 UTC.

Remediation

Vendor Workaround

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.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Disable checkpoint‑and‑restore functionality until a vendor security update is available
  • Restrict permissions to create workloads and to access node‑level container runtime interfaces to trusted administrators only
  • Do not restore containers from untrusted or unverified checkpoint sources
  • Apply vendor security patches for CRI‑O or OpenShift Container Platform 4 as soon as they become available

Generated by OpenCVE AI on September 21, 2026 at 09:21 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 threat_severity

Important

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
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.
Title Cri-o: cri-o: insufficient validation during container checkpoint restore
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat openshift
Weaknesses CWE-22
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat openshift
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Subscriptions

Redhat Openshift
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-21T08:15:45.963Z

Reserved: 2026-07-15T06:28:05.236Z

Link: CVE-2026-15801

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-21T09:17:05.743

Modified: 2026-09-21T09:17:05.743

Link: CVE-2026-15801

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-09-21T00:01:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-15801 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-09-21T09:30:13Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-22

    Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')