Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-44210

Katacontainers Kata Containers ≤ 3.31.0

Public PoC
Published
23 July 2026
Modified
06 August 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 5.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0045 37th percentile
Risk Priority 34 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-44210 is a medium-severity Argument Injection (CWE-88) vulnerability in Katacontainers Kata Containers. Its CVSS base score is 5.8 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked at the 37th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

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…

more

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.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-24054Same product: Katacontainers Kata Containers
CVE-2026-24834Same product: Katacontainers Kata Containers
CVE-2026-41326Same product: Katacontainers Kata Containers
CVE-2025-12556Shared CWE-88
CVE-2024-3367Shared CWE-88
CVE-2026-4145Shared CWE-88
CVE-2025-40948Shared CWE-88
CVE-2023-34395Shared CWE-88
CVE-2025-36565Shared CWE-88
CVE-2026-44790Shared CWE-88

Affected Assets

katacontainers
kata containers
≤ 3.31.0

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

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing can discover argument-injection flaws in command-construction code but does not stop their introduction.

Input validation directly stops construction of command strings containing unneutralized delimiters or injected arguments.

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

Secure SDLC practices directly require proper input validation and command construction to prevent argument injection.

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.

finds

Security testing can detect argument injection but does not prevent it at the source.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and command construction practices that directly prevent argument injection.

prevents

Application security requirements include explicit rules for safe command-line argument handling and escaping.

prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe command invocation patterns and favor safer APIs.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly require proper neutralization of command arguments, directly eliminating CWE-88.

none

Change management can catch unsafe command patterns during reviews but is not a direct mitigation.

References