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Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical

CVE-2020-15157

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.2.14 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In containerd (an industry-standard container runtime) before version 1.2.14 there is a credential leaking vulnerability. If a container image manifest in the OCI Image format or Docker Image V2 Schema 2 format includes a URL for the location of a specific image layer (otherwise known as a “foreign layer”), the default containerd resolver will follow that URL to attempt to download it. In v1.2.x but not 1.3.0 or later, the default containerd resolver will provide its authentication credentials if the server where the URL is located presents an HTTP 401 status code along with registry-specific HTTP headers. If an attacker publishes a public image with a manifest that directs one of the layers to be fetched from a web server they control and they trick a user or system into pulling the image, they can obtain the credentials used for pulling that image. In some cases, this may be the user's username and password for the registry. In other cases, this may be the credentials attached to the cloud virtual instance which can grant access to other cloud resources in the account. The default containerd resolver is used by the cri-containerd plugin (which can be used by Kubernetes), the ctr development tool, and other client programs that have explicitly linked against it. This vulnerability has been fixed in containerd 1.2.14. containerd 1.3 and later are not affected. If you are using containerd 1.3 or later, you are not affected. If you are using cri-containerd in the 1.2 series or prior, you should ensure you only pull images from trusted sources. Other container runtimes built on top of containerd but not using the default resolver (such as Docker) are not affected.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

containerd before 1.2.14 leaks authentication credentials when pulling images with 'foreign layers' (external URL references). The default resolver sends credentials to servers returning HTTP 401, allowing attackers hosting malicious image manifests to steal registry or cloud service credentials.

MitigationUpgrade containerd to 1.2.14 or later (or 1.3+) to patch the vulnerability, and only pull images from trusted sources.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 16.04= 18.04= 20.04
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0
ContainerdApplication
Affected:>= 1.2.0, < 1.2.14= 1.3.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify containerd version
    Run `containerd --version` or `ctr --version` to retrieve the installed containerd version number
    Affected if The version is 1.2.0 through 1.2.13, or exactly 1.3.0
  2. Check Ubuntu package version
    On Ubuntu, run `apt-cache policy containerd` or `dpkg -l containerd` to see the installed package version
    Affected if The package version matches a vulnerable containerd release (1.2.0-1.2.13 or 1.3.0)
  3. Check Debian package version
    On Debian 10, run `apt-cache policy containerd` or `dpkg -l containerd` to see the installed package version
    Affected if The package version corresponds to a vulnerable containerd release
  4. Verify runtime dependency
    Check if containerd is actively used by Docker, Kubernetes, or other container runtimes: `docker info 2>/dev/null | grep -i containerd` or check running containerd process: `ps aux | grep containerd`
    Affected if containerd is running as the container runtime and the version is vulnerable

Your environment is affected if containerd version 1.2.0-1.2.13 or 1.3.0 is installed and actively used for pulling container images

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.2.14 or later
Fixed in 1.2.14
Interim mitigation

Upgrade containerd to 1.2.14 or later (or 1.3+) to patch the vulnerability, and only pull images from trusted sources.

Fix this in Ubuntu Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-15157 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data