CVE-2023-38496

Host directory deletion via ineffective privilege drop

Published Jul 25, 2023 · Updated Oct 10, 2024

Improper privilege management in Apptainer 1.2.0-rc.2 through 1.2.0 allows local users to delete host directories via a crafted starter config. The privilege helper changes process-wide user IDs during CNI network setup, so later starter operations continue with root privileges. Exploitation requires a setuid installation, container network setup, and processing of the attacker's starter configuration.

CVSS severity6.1
Medium
EPSS probability0.26%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper privilege management in Apptainer 1.2.0-rc.2 through 1.2.0 allows local users to delete host directories via a crafted starter config. The privilege helper changes process-wide user IDs during CNI network setup, so later starter operations continue with root privileges. Exploitation requires a setuid installation, container network setup, and processing of the attacker's starter configuration.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-38496
Published
Jul 25, 2023
Updated
Oct 10, 2024
Vendor
Apptainer Project
Product
Apptainer
Classifications
CWE-271, CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 25, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 10, 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=>= 1.2.0-rc.2, < 1.2.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Apptainer Project · Apptainerversion=>= 1.2.0-rc.2, < 1.2.1

Published CVSS scores

6.1GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
3.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-271Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors
CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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