CVE-2023-25809
Linuxfoundation Runc ≤ 1.1.5
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:LSummary
CVE-2023-25809 is a medium-severity Improper Preservation of Permissions (CWE-281) vulnerability in Linuxfoundation Runc. Its CVSS base score is 5.0 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked at the 24th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-1058
Vulnerability Data
runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. In affected versions it was found that rootless runc makes `/sys/fs/cgroup` writable in following conditons: 1. when runc is executed inside the user namespace, and…
more
the `config.json` does not specify the cgroup namespace to be unshared (e.g.., `(docker|podman|nerdctl) run --cgroupns=host`, with Rootless Docker/Podman/nerdctl) or 2. when runc is executed outside the user namespace, and `/sys` is mounted with `rbind, ro` (e.g., `runc spec --rootless`; this condition is very rare). A container may gain the write access to user-owned cgroup hierarchy `/sys/fs/cgroup/user.slice/...` on the host . Other users's cgroup hierarchies are not affected. Users are advised to upgrade to version 1.1.5. Users unable to upgrade may unshare the cgroup namespace (`(docker|podman|nerdctl) run --cgroupns=private)`. This is the default behavior of Docker/Podman/nerdctl on cgroup v2 hosts. or add `/sys/fs/cgroup` to `maskedPaths`.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
- 8 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
—
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.
Forces removal or modification of permissions no longer required after reassignment, preventing improper preservation of old access rights.
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.
Enforcing least-privilege permission policies and reviews directly prevents incorrect permission propagation on copy/restore/share operations.
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.
Access-control policy defines how permissions must be preserved when objects are copied or shared.
Access-rights provisioning and review processes directly address the risk of overly permissive copied objects.
Privileged-access management includes rules for maintaining correct permissions on copied or restored data.
Information-access-restriction controls enforce least-privilege permissions that must be preserved during copy/restore operations.
Change-management procedures can require verification that permissions remain intact after modifications or restores.
Configuration baselines can embed permission settings, indirectly reducing the chance of incorrect preservation.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that reduce the attack surface for weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Derived transitively via CVE→CWE→STIG over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only).
Windows Server 2016 (1 rule)
- V-224972 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. via CWE-281
Windows Server 2022 (1 rule)
- V-254395 Windows Server 2022 organization created Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU) objects must have proper access control permissions. via CWE-281