containerd is an open source container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability. A bug was found in containerd where container root directories and some plugins had insufficiently restricted permissions, allowing otherwise unprivileged Linux users to traverse directory contents and execute programs. When containers included executable programs with extended permission bits (such as setuid), unprivileged Linux users could discover and execute those programs. When the UID of an unprivileged Linux user on the host collided with the file owner or group inside a container, the unprivileged Linux user on the host could discover, read, and modify those files. This vulnerability has been fixed in containerd 1.4.11 and containerd 1.5.7. Users should update to these version when they are released and may restart containers or update directory permissions to mitigate the vulnerability. Users unable to update should limit access to the host to trusted users. Update directory permission on container bundles directories.
CVE-2021-41103
“—” beside the score: it is equal to NVD's CVSS score.
This high-severity CVE scores 7.8 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 0.5% (44th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs). GitHub Security Advisory CVSS 5.9 is lower than this score; a lower GitHub score revises it only when its advisory is newer than the CVE record's last change, and this advisory (published 2021-10-04) is not newer than that change (2024-11-21), so it does not.
Also known asEUVD-2021-2187 (ENISA EUVD) · GHSA-c2h3-6mxw-7mvq (GitHub Security Advisories) · GO-2022-0938 (OSV.dev)Source: ENISA EUVD
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 7.8
- EG Score
- 7.8HIGHmedium confidence
- EG Risk
- 35EG Risk 35/100
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.
How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)Severity78% × 45%Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 7.8 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.Exploitation0.5% × 40%FIRST EPSS: the 30-day exploitation probability when EchelonGraph scored this CVE.Automatability0% × 15%CISA's BOD 26-04 default: no one has published Automatable for this CVE, and CISA treats it as “no” for a CVE not in KEV.SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).Exploitation none (no CISA value, KEV listing or exploit code on record) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). EchelonGraph holds no SSVC assessment of this CVE from CISA: none of these inputs is from Vulnrichment. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines. - EPSS PROB
- 0.5%
- EPSS %ILE
- 44th
- KEV
- Not listed
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.NVD CVSS v3 · CVSS v3.0 or v3.1
- EG Likelihood
- 0.5% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-12). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (no CISA value, KEV listing or exploit code on record) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). EchelonGraph holds no SSVC assessment of this CVE from CISA: none of these inputs is from Vulnrichment. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). Where an input reads “CISA's BOD 26-04 default”, no one has published it for this CVE, and CISA's implementation guidance says: “If “Automatable” and “Technical Impact” information items about a CVE ID are not available and the CVE ID is not in the KEV Catalog, CISA will treat its values as “no” and “total,” respectively, until CISA or a third party provides metadata about the CVE ID. CISA will always provide the Vulnrichment data for a CVE ID listed in the KEV Catalog.” Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it
Published
October 4, 2021
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
Advisory Details (7)
Auto-updated Sep 27, 2026Insufficiently restricted permissions on container root and plugin directories · Advisory · containerd/containerd · GitHub
https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/GHSA-c2h3-6mxw-7mvqcommit 5b46e404f6b9 (containerd/containerd)
Fix landed in containerd/containerd commit 5b46e404f6b9 — awaiting tagged release
https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/5b46e404f6b9f661a205e28d59c982d3634148f8[SECURITY] [DSA 5002-1] containerd security update
https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5002containerd: Multiple Vulnerabilities (GLSA 202401-31) — Gentoo security
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202401-31[SECURITY] Fedora 34 Update: moby-engine-20.10.9-1.fc34 - package-announce - Fedora mailing-lists
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZNFADTCHHYWVM6W4NJ6CB4FNFM2VMBIB/[SECURITY] Fedora 35 Update: moby-engine-20.10.9-1.fc35 - package-announce - Fedora mailing-lists
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/B5Q6G6I4W5COQE25QMC7FJY3I3PAYFBB/Vendor Advisories for CVE-2021-41103(4)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
- RHSA-2022:6517Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: Release of containers for OSP 16.2.z director operator tech preview
- RHSA-2022:5673Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: Release of containers for OSP 16.2.z director operator tech preview
- CVE-2021-41103Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC)HighMicrosoft CVSS 7.8
Microsoft security update for CVE-2021-41103
- GHSA-c2h3-6mxw-7mvqGitHub Security AdvisoriesMedium
Insufficiently restricted permissions on plugin directories
Patch Availability(6)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fix (by version range) / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | golang-github-docker-containerd-dev (1.2.6-0ubuntu1~16.04.6+esm2) @ xenial | 2026-10-29 | ubuntu |
| ubuntu | golang-github-containerd-containerd-dev (1.5.2-0ubuntu1~20.04.3) @ focal | 2026-10-29 | ubuntu |
| redhat | rhosp-rhel8-tech-preview/osp-director-operator-bundle:1.2.3-7 | 2022-09-14 | redhat |
| redhat | rhosp-rhel8-tech-preview/osp-director-operator:1.2.3-3 | 2022-07-20 | redhat |
| go | github.com/containerd/containerd @ 1.4.11 (fixes < 1.4.11) | — | ghsa |
| go | github.com/containerd/containerd @ 1.5.7 (fixes >= 1.5.0, < 1.5.7) | — | ghsa |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Affected Packages
(16 across 16 ecosystems)
Alpine:v3.14(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.15(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.16(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.17(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.18(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.19(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.20(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.21(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.22(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.23(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Alpine:v3.24(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Debian:11(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | 1.4.5~ds1-2 |
| — |
Debian:12(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Debian:13(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Debian:14(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| containerd | — |
| — |
Go(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/containerd/containerd | — |
| — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Additional Vendor Advisories
(2)
Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 10× in last 7d / 40× in last 30d)
Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed its CVE.org record (CNA or CISA ADP). An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). "EchelonGraph re-scored" is our own recompute of this CVE's score, not an update from a source, and is not counted in the refreshes above. Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 242 rows on record for this CVE, as 97 entries (3 repeats merged).
A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. 3 repeat rows among the latest 100 are merged into the row they repeat. The 142 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.
- 2026-11-13 12:24 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-11-13 12:24 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-11-13 12:24 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-c2h3-6mxw-7mvq · GitHub severity MODERATE · GitHub CVSS 5.9
- 2026-11-13 10:26 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-11-12 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-11 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-10 16:35 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-09 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-08 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-07 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-06 16:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-05 21:04 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-11-05 21:04 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-11-05 21:04 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-c2h3-6mxw-7mvq · GitHub severity MODERATE · GitHub CVSS 5.9
- 2026-11-05 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-04 16:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-03 16:38 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-02 16:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-01 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-11-01 08:30 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-c2h3-6mxw-7mvq · GitHub severity MODERATE · GitHub CVSS 5.9
- 2026-11-01 08:30 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-10-31 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-10-30 16:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 44th percentile
- 2026-10-29 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-29 05:50 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
Show 72 moreShow fewer
- 2026-10-29 05:50 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-29 03:25 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-10-28 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-27 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-26 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-25 18:22 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-10-25 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-24 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-23 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-22 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-21 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-10-21 09:00 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-10-21 09:00 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-20 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-19 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-18 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-18 08:54 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-10-17 21:25 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-10-17 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-16 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-15 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-14 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-13 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-12 19:10 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-10-12 16:30 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-11 23:35 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-10-11 13:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-10 19:56 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-09 20:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-08 16:40 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-07 23:45 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-06 15:14 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-05 17:40 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-04 23:19 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-03 14:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-10-02 16:23 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-10-01 19:46 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-09-30 15:41 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
- 2026-09-30 15:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-09-29 15:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-09-28 13:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-09-27 13:41 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-09-26 15:54 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-09-26 00:21 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-09-25 15:45 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-09-24 14:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-09-23 13:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-09-22 14:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-09-21 20:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-20 20:13 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-09-19 15:38 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-09-18 19:23 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 43rd percentile
- 2026-09-17 19:23 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-16 14:05 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-15 03:06 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-12 14:57 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-11 14:49 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-11 09:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-08 21:56 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-07 15:58 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-06 06:22 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-09-05 15:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-04 13:57 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-04 05:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-02 14:09 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-01 13:50 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 42nd percentile
- 2026-09-01 03:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-08-30 19:14 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-08-30 01:19 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-08-28 21:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
- 2026-08-27 14:22 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 0.5% · 41st percentile
Related CVEs(same product + same vendor + same CWE)
Same product
10 shownAlpine:v3.14:containerd · Debian:11:containerd · Alpine:v3.15:containerd
Same vendor
9 shownredhat:RHSA-2022:5673 · redhat:RHSA-2022:6517 · ubuntu:USN-5521-1
Same CWE
10 shownCWE-22
- CVE-2021-41595EG 5.3MEDIUM
- CVE-2021-41596EG 5.3MEDIUM
- CVE-2021-41578EG 7.8EPSS p97HIGH
- CVE-2021-41579EG 7.8HIGH
- CVE-2021-41773EG 9.8 KEVEPSS p100CRITICAL
- CVE-2021-40978EG 7.5EPSS p97HIGH
- CVE-2021-37922EG 5.3MEDIUM
- CVE-2021-42013EG 9.8 KEVEPSS p100CRITICAL
- CVE-2021-40960EG 9.8EPSS p96CRITICAL
- CVE-2021-3710EG 6.5MEDIUM
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2021-41103?
When was the CVE record for CVE-2021-41103 published?
Is CVE-2021-41103 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-41103?
How do I remediate CVE-2021-41103?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2021-41103
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-41103?
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