CVE-2026-41579: runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. In versions prior to 1.3.6, 1.4.0-rc.1, 1.4.0-rc.12, 1.5.0-rc.1, and 1.5.0-rc.1, when set

lowCVSS 3.3CVE-2026-41579

runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. In versions prior to 1.3.6, 1.4.0-rc.1, 1.4.0-rc.12, 1.5.0-rc.1, and 1.5.0-rc.1, when setting up the container rootfs, setupPtmx and setupDevSymlinks call os.Remove and os.Symlink with a filepath.Join string which allow an image with /dev as a symlink to trick runc into deleting files called ptmx on the host or creating a hardcoded set of symlinks with specific names and targets in an arbitrary pre-existing host directory. This issue is not exploitable under Docker, because Docker creates a top-level read-only layer that masks any malicious /dev symlink present in the container image — unlike some other Linux container tooling, whose higher-level runtimes built on runc remain exposed to exploitation via a malicious image. This issue has been fixed in versions 1.3.6, 1.4.3 and 1.5.0.

Details

Source: NVD Recent CVEs (US · database · site)
Severity: low — CVSS 3.3
Published: 2026-07-01
Last updated: 2026-07-02
Exploitation: Not in CISA KEV at last sync

Original advisory: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41579

Exploitation outlook

EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.

Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-415790.22% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 13% of all scored CVEs.

Referenced CVEs

CVE	CSIRTS overview	External
CVE-2026-41579	coverage & exploitation status	NVD · CVE.org

Same CVEs, other sources

How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.

Recent advisories for runc is a

A cluster of recent advisories against the same product widens the attack surface — attackers routinely chain freshly published CVEs on one product, so review these together.

high[UPDATE] [high] Red Hat Enterprise Linux (runc): Multiple vulnerabilities allow bypassing of security measurescert-bund · 2026-07-09
lowCVE-2026-41579: runc: Malicious image with /dev symlink can trigger limited host filesystem integrity violatio…msrc · 2026-07-02
unknownCVE-2025-31133, CVE-2025-52565, CVE-2025-52881 - runc container issuesaws · 2026-06-05