Cyber Resilience

CVE-2019-5736

Command Injection in Linuxfoundation Runc ≤ 0.1.1

Public PoCHigh EPSSCommand Injection
Published
11 February 2019
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.98 99.9th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2019-5736 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Linuxfoundation Runc. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

runc through 1.0-rc6, as used in Docker before 18.09.2 and other products, allows attackers to overwrite the host runc binary (and consequently obtain host root access) by leveraging the ability to execute a command as root within one of these…

more

types of containers: (1) a new container with an attacker-controlled image, or (2) an existing container, to which the attacker previously had write access, that can be attached with docker exec. This occurs because of file-descriptor mishandling, related to /proc/self/exe.

CWE(s)
CWE-78

Related Threats

Threat-Actor AttributionAI

TeamTNT (G0139)
Hildegard: New TeamTNT Cryptojacking Malware Targeting Kubernetes

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1611 Escape to Host Privilege Escalationconfidence: HIGH
Overwriting the host runc binary via /proc/self/exe mishandling directly enables escape from container to host.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalationconfidence: HIGH
Container escape via runc binary overwrite leads to privilege escalation on the host.
attack.mitre.org →
T1543.003 Windows Service Persistenceconfidence: MEDIUM
Replacing the runc binary can be leveraged to establish persistence through a malicious container runtime service.
attack.mitre.org →
inferred from description + CWE + attributed actor TTPs (TeamTNT) · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-2068Same product: Fedoraproject Fedora
CVE-2022-1292Same product: Fedoraproject Fedora
CVE-2020-26217Same product class: NAS / storage appliance
CVE-2017-6361Same product class: NAS / storage appliance
CVE-2023-32976Same product class: NAS / storage appliance
CVE-2024-14026Same product class: NAS / storage appliance
CVE-2023-34979Same product class: NAS / storage appliance
CVE-2023-41289Same product class: NAS / storage appliance
CVE-2026-22897Same product class: NAS / storage appliance
CVE-2023-41288Same product class: NAS / storage appliance

Affected Assets

docker
docker
≤ 18.09.2
linuxfoundation
runc
1.0.0 · ≤ 0.1.1
redhat
container development kit
3.7
redhat
openshift
3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7
redhat
enterprise linux
8.0
redhat
enterprise linux server
7.0
google
kubernetes engine
all versions
linuxcontainers
lxc
≤ 3.2.0
hp
onesphere
all versions
netapp
hci management node
all versions
+9 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References