CVE-2026-50540
CriticalCVSS 9.6Summary
Kata Containers prior to version 4.0.0 is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction, allowing a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path to supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host.
Risk Assessment
A pod user with the ability to place a file at a host-visible path can achieve host code execution as root, breaking isolation.
Recommendation
Upgrade Kata Containers to version 4.0.0 or later, which includes the fix.
Original NVD description (English source)
Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.