Description
A vulnerability in CRI-O checkpoint restore allows a user who can create a pod from a malicious checkpointed container to bypass the destination Kubernetes security context. The restored process may retain credentials, Linux capabilities, no_new_privs, and seccomp state from the checkpoint instead of enforcing the destination configuration. This can allow execution with elevated privileges across the container security boundary.
Affected upstream supported versions are CRI-O 1.34 and later. Downstream Red Hat products are affected from OCP 4.17 onward. Fixes have been applied to supported branches but are not yet released.
Exploitation requires permission to create a pod from a malicious checkpoint image and checkpoint restore functionality to be available.
Published: 2026-09-21
Score: 8.8 High
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

Vendor Workaround

Upgrade (primary remediation): Update CRI-O to a fixed version once available: 1.36.6 (1.36.x branch), 1.35.9 (1.35.x branch), or 1.34.14 (1.34.x branch). For Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, apply the corresponding OCP update when released. Until the fix is applied, the following measures reduce exposure: Disable checkpoint restore if not required: In OpenShift, container checkpoint/restore requires the ContainerCheckpoint feature gate, which is Tech Preview and not enabled by default. Clusters that have not explicitly enabled this feature gate are not exposed to this flaw. If it was enabled and is not actively needed, disable it. For standalone CRI-O, set enable_criu_support = false in crio.conf under [crio.runtime] and restart the CRI-O service. Restrict pod creation privileges: Limit Kubernetes RBAC for the create and update verbs on pods, deployments, daemonsets, statefulsets, jobs, and cronjobs resources to trusted users and service accounts only. Exploitation requires the ability to schedule a pod referencing a malicious checkpoint image. Enforce Pod Security Standards: Apply the restricted or baseline Pod Security Standard at the namespace level using Pod Security Admission. While this does not directly block checkpoint restore, it limits the security contexts an attacker can request, reducing the impact if combined with other controls. Restrict container image registries: Use an image policy (e.g., OpenShift image policy, Kyverno, or OPA Gatekeeper) to allowlist trusted registries only. This prevents pods from pulling malicious checkpoint images hosted on attacker-controlled registries. Identify and remediate previously restored containers: If checkpoint restore has been used with images from untrusted sources, stop, delete, and recreate those containers. The restored process state may not match the intended security context.

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History

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


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 10:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A vulnerability in CRI-O checkpoint restore allows a user who can create a pod from a malicious checkpointed container to bypass the destination Kubernetes security context. The restored process may retain credentials, Linux capabilities, no_new_privs, and seccomp state from the checkpoint instead of enforcing the destination configuration. This can allow execution with elevated privileges across the container security boundary. Affected upstream supported versions are CRI-O 1.34 and later. Downstream Red Hat products are affected from OCP 4.17 onward. Fixes have been applied to supported branches but are not yet released. Exploitation requires permission to create a pod from a malicious checkpoint image and checkpoint restore functionality to be available.
Title Cri-o: cri-o checkpoint restore bypasses destination security context
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat confidential Compute Attestation
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openshift
Weaknesses CWE-250
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:confidential_compute_attestation:1
cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat confidential Compute Attestation
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openshift
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

Redhat Confidential Compute Attestation Enterprise Linux Openshift
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-21T15:36:29.601Z

Reserved: 2026-09-16T13:40:20.528Z

Link: CVE-2026-92574

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-09-21T15:36:24.253Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-21T10:17:17.360

Modified: 2026-09-21T16:17:26.513

Link: CVE-2026-92574

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-09-21T09:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-92574 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-09-21T11:30:09Z

Weaknesses