Skip to content
Heist/ feed
MediumFix available

Containerd has image-pull DoS via crafted OCI index graph amplification

Type: advisorySource: OSV1 source record

### Impact A vulnerability exists in containerd's image pull handlers where a crafted OCI image index containing deeply nested or heavily fanned-out descriptor graphs can cause unbounded CPU and memory consumption. During the `PullImage` operation, the recursive traversal and processing of child descriptors lack sufficient depth and breadth limits, and fail to adequately deduplicate identical descriptors. This unbounded traversal leads to excessive resource allocation. Consequently, pulling a malicious image reference can result in prolonged stalls during container creation and significant resource pressure on the host system. This issue occurs entirely during the image pull phase, prior to any container execution. ### Patches This bug has been fixed in containerd 2.4.1, 2.3.6, 2.2.9, 2.0.13, and 1.7.36. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue. ### Workarounds There are no known workarounds for this issue. Users are advised to only pull trusted images from known registries until the patch can be applied. ### Credits The containerd project would like to thank Jakub Ciolek at ElevenLabs and @jlgore who independently discovered and responsibly disclosed this issue in accordance with the [containerd security policy](https://github.com/containerd/project/blob/main/SECURITY.md). ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [containerd](https://github.com/containerd/containerd/issues/new/choose) * Email us

Announced Group revision 1
Original source ↗

GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645

Primary source · Revision 1

Imported from structured advisory data. Source references identify upstream records or fields; verify affected versions and your deployed configuration.

Security context

Source reference: osv:GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645

github.com/containerd/containerd/v2

Source reference: /affected/0/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
2.0.13

Source reference: /affected/0/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

github.com/containerd/containerd

Source reference: /affected/1/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
1.7.36

Source reference: /affected/1/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

github.com/containerd/containerd/v2

Source reference: /affected/2/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
2.2.9

Source reference: /affected/2/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

github.com/containerd/containerd/v2

Source reference: /affected/3/package/name

Affected versions
Not stated in this record
Fixed versions
2.3.6

Source reference: /affected/3/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

github.com/containerd/containerd/v2

Source reference: /affected/4/package/name

Affected versions
2.4.0

Source reference: /affected/4/versions

Fixed versions
2.4.1

Source reference: /affected/4/ranges

Prerequisites
Not stated in this record

Structured affected-version data

Original package identities and version rules from this source.

[
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "2.0.0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "2.0.13"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/containerd/containerd/v2",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/09/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645.json"
    }
  },
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "1.7.36"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/containerd/containerd",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/containerd/containerd",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/09/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645.json",
      "last_known_affected_version_range": "<= 1.7.35"
    }
  },
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "2.1.0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "2.2.9"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/containerd/containerd/v2",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/09/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645.json"
    }
  },
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "2.3.0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "2.3.6"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/containerd/containerd/v2",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/09/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645.json"
    }
  },
  {
    "ranges": [
      {
        "type": "SEMVER",
        "events": [
          {
            "introduced": "2.4.0"
          },
          {
            "fixed": "2.4.1"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "package": {
      "name": "github.com/containerd/containerd/v2",
      "purl": "pkg:golang/github.com/containerd/containerd/v2",
      "ecosystem": "Go"
    },
    "versions": [
      "2.4.0"
    ],
    "database_specific": {
      "source": "https://github.com/github/advisory-database/blob/main/advisories/github-reviewed/2026/09/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645/GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645.json"
    }
  }
]
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-53493

Source reference: /aliases

Publisher severity

No explicit severity was provided.

Linked CVE context

These ratings describe the referenced vulnerabilities and products. They are not a severity rating for every application using this dependency.

CVE-2026-53493 · Medium

containerd

Event
#63891 · Revision 1
Added to Heist Feed
Publisher date
Read the original announcement

Revision history

  1. GHSA-pg57-6jwg-q645 · Revision 1Source updated