Privilege retention via uncleared SUID and SGID bits
Published Jul 29, 2026 · Updated Jul 29, 2026
Incorrect privilege assignment in Containers fuse-overlayfs before 1.17 allows local users to preserve SUID or SGID bits by truncating files. The C release-1.x open and setattr truncation paths copy up writable lower-layer files without clearing S_ISUID or S_ISGID, leaving upper-layer mode 4777. Reachability requires a local low-privileged process with write access through a fuse-overlayfs merged mount; the proven result is retained privilege bits, not host root or container escape.
Summary
What happened
Incorrect privilege assignment in Containers fuse-overlayfs before 1.17 allows local users to preserve SUID or SGID bits by truncating files. The C release-1.x open and setattr truncation paths copy up writable lower-layer files without clearing S_ISUID or S_ISGID, leaving upper-layer mode 4777. Reachability requires a local low-privileged process with write access through a fuse-overlayfs merged mount; the proven result is retained privilege bits, not host root or container escape.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-52791
- Published
- Jul 29, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 29, 2026
- Vendor
- Containers
- Product
- fuse-overlayfs
- Classifications
- CWE-266, T1548.001
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 29, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 29, 2026Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=< 1.17
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Public exploit references
- Upstream truncate_killpriv_repro.sh reproducerfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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