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ContainerdApplication · Linuxfoundation

CVE-2025-47291

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.0.5 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
containerd is an open-source container runtime. A bug was found in the containerd's CRI implementation where containerd, starting in version 2.0.1 and prior to version 2.0.5, doesn't put usernamespaced containers under the Kubernetes' cgroup hierarchy, therefore some Kubernetes limits are not honored. This may cause a denial of service of the Kubernetes node. This bug has been fixed in containerd 2.0.5+ and 2.1.0+. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue. As a workaround, disable usernamespaced pods in Kubernetes temporarily.

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

A bug in containerd's CRI implementation (versions 2.0.1 through prior to 2.0.5) fails to place usernamespaced containers under Kubernetes' cgroup hierarchy, causing Kubernetes resource limits (CPU, memory, etc.) to not be honored. This can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service on the Kubernetes node.

MitigationUpdate containerd to version 2.0.5+ or 2.1.0+ to remediate the cgroup hierarchy issue. As a temporary workaround, disable usernamespaced pods in Kubernetes.

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
ContainerdApplication
Affected:>= 2.0.1, < 2.0.5

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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. Determine containerd version
    Run 'containerd --version' or check the containerd binary version
    Affected if version is 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, or 2.0.4 (any version >= 2.0.1 and < 2.0.5)
  2. Confirm CRI is in use
    Check if containerd is being used as the container runtime for Kubernetes by examining /etc/containerd/config.toml for 'cri' plugin settings or by running 'crictl info'
    Affected if containerd is configured with CRI plugin enabled for Kubernetes workloads
  3. Identify usernamespaced pod usage
    List active pods using 'kubectl get pods --all-namespaces' and check for pods in non-default namespaces (kube-system, default, kube-public)
    Affected if usernamespaced pods (pods in namespaces other than kube-system) are running on the cluster

You are affected if containerd version is 2.0.1 through 2.0.4, CRI is enabled for Kubernetes, and usernamespaced pods are running, which means resource limits may not be enforced.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.0.5 or later
Fixed in 2.0.5
Interim mitigation

Update containerd to version 2.0.5+ or 2.1.0+ to remediate the cgroup hierarchy issue. As a temporary workaround, disable usernamespaced pods in Kubernetes.

Recommended fix High confidence

containerd 2.0.5+ or 2.1.0+

  1. Upgrade containerd to version 2.0.5 or higher (or 2.1.0+ if using that branch)
  2. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking containerd version (containerd --version)
  3. For Kubernetes environments, ensure the kubelet is restarted to pick up the new containerd
  4. If unable to upgrade immediately, temporarily disable usernamespaced pods in Kubernetes as a workaround by setting the --enable-namespaced-pods=false kubelet flag (if supported) or using Kubernetes pod security policies
Caveat Review containerd 2.0.5 and 2.1.0 release notes for any potential compatibility considerations with your container runtime and Kubernetes version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Containerd Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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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-2025-47291 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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