Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Versions prior to 3.31.0 ship with a default configuration that allows pod creators to inject arbitrary command-line arguments into the virtiofsd process through the `io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.virtio_fs_extra_args` pod annotation. By injecting `-o source=/` along with `--no-announce-submounts` and `--sandbox=none`, an attacker can override the virtiofsd shared directory to serve the entire host root filesystem into the guest VM. Combined with the `kernel_params` annotation (also enabled by default) to activate the agent debug console, the attacker can mount the host filesystem from inside the VM and read or write any file on the host, including /etc/shadow. Version 3.31.0 patches the issue.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kata-containers | kata-containers | affected |
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Project Subscriptions
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Advisories
| Source | ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
 Github GHSA |
GHSA-rr59-xxvx-96qr | Kata Containers have VM Escape via virtiofsd Argument Injection through Default-Enabled Pod Annotations |
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Thu, 23 Jul 2026 21:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Versions prior to 3.31.0 ship with a default configuration that allows pod creators to inject arbitrary command-line arguments into the virtiofsd process through the `io.katacontainers.config.hypervisor.virtio_fs_extra_args` pod annotation. By injecting `-o source=/` along with `--no-announce-submounts` and `--sandbox=none`, an attacker can override the virtiofsd shared directory to serve the entire host root filesystem into the guest VM. Combined with the `kernel_params` annotation (also enabled by default) to activate the agent debug console, the attacker can mount the host filesystem from inside the VM and read or write any file on the host, including /etc/shadow. Version 3.31.0 patches the issue. | |
| Title | Kata Containers have VM Escape via virtiofsd Argument Injection through Default-Enabled Pod Annotations | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-88 | |
| References |
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| Metrics |
cvssV4_0
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Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: GitHub_M
Published:
Updated: 2026-07-23T17:32:23.927Z
Reserved: 2026-05-05T15:13:47.571Z
Link: CVE-2026-44210
Vulnrichment
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NVD
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Redhat
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OpenCVE Enrichment
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Weaknesses