CVE-2020-2023Public exploit

Container-to-guest code execution via exposed root device

Published Jun 10, 2020 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Privilege management flaw in Kata Containers 1.9 and earlier, 1.10 before 1.10.5, and 1.11 before 1.11.1 allows local users to execute guest code. The agent omits the guest root NVDIMM partition from container device-cgroup restrictions, so a CAP_MKNOD workload can discover its device numbers, create a device node, and overwrite guest executables such as kata-agent or libc with debugfs. With DAX, modified pages reach guest processes immediately; without DAX, exploitation requires memory pressure to force rereads and can fail under container memory limits.

CVSS severity3.8
Low
EPSS probability1.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege management flaw in Kata Containers 1.9 and earlier, 1.10 before 1.10.5, and 1.11 before 1.11.1 allows local users to execute guest code. The agent omits the guest root NVDIMM partition from container device-cgroup restrictions, so a CAP_MKNOD workload can discover its device numbers, create a device node, and overwrite guest executables such as kata-agent or libc with debugfs. With DAX, modified pages reach guest processes immediately; without DAX, exploitation requires memory pressure to force rereads and can fail under container memory limits.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-2023
Published
Jun 10, 2020
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
Kata Containers
Product
Kata Containers
Classifications
CWE-250, T1611
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 10, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1.10 <1.10.5
  2. Affected versionversion=1.11 <1.11.1
  3. Affected versionversion=1 <=1.9

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Kata Containers · Kata Containersversion=1.10 <1.10.5; version=1.11 <1.11.1; version=1 <=1.9

Published CVSS scores

6.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
3.8Palo Alto Networks, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-250Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
T1611Escape to Host

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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