runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. In versions prior to 1.3.6, 1.4.0-rc.1, 1.4.0-rc.12, 1.5.0-rc.1, and 1.5.0-rc.1, when setting up the container rootfs, setupPtmx and setupDevSymlinks call os.Remove and os.Symlink with a filepath.Join string which allow an image with /dev as a symlink to trick runc into deleting files called ptmx on the host or creating a hardcoded set of symlinks with specific names and targets in an arbitrary pre-existing host directory. This issue is not exploitable under Docker, because Docker creates a top-level read-only layer that masks any malicious /dev symlink present in the container image — unlike some other Linux container tooling, whose higher-level runtimes built on runc remain exposed to exploitation via a malicious image. This issue has been fixed in versions 1.3.6, 1.4.3 and 1.5.0.
CVE-2026-41579
This low-severity CVE scores 3.3 under a secondary CVSS source (NVD's own analysis pending). EPSS exploit probability: 0.2%, top 87% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 3.3
- EG Score
- 3.3(medium)
- EPSS
- 12.8%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
June 22, 2026
Last Modified
July 2, 2026
References (2)
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/864db8042dbb
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/opencontainers/runc/security/advisories/GHSA-xjvp-4fhw-gc47
Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-41579(2)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
- CVE-2026-41579Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC)Low
runc: Malicious image with /dev symlink can trigger limited host filesystem integrity violations
- GHSA-xjvp-4fhw-gc47GitHub Security AdvisoriesMedium
runc: Malicious image with /dev symlink can trigger limited host filesystem integrity violations
Affected Packages
(1 across 1 ecosystem)
Go(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/opencontainers/runc | — | 1.5.0-rc.3 | — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 8× in last 7d / 29× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-22 14:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-21 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-20 17:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-19 14:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-19 02:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-18 10:04 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-17 00:52 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-07-16 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-15 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-15 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-15 02:00 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-13 06:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-13 06:13 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-12 05:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-11 08:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-10 23:52 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-07-09 19:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-08 15:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-07 23:22 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-07-07 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 16:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 16:27 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 02:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 02:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-05 02:30 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- 2026-07-04 06:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-01 15:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-01 03:20 UTCNVD updateseverity → LOW
- 2026-06-22 20:36 UTCEG score recompute
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2026-41579?
When was CVE-2026-41579 disclosed?
Is CVE-2026-41579 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-41579?
How do I remediate CVE-2026-41579?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2026-41579
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