containerd CRI plugin: Host memory exhaustion through ExecSync

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

5.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2022-31030: 0.39% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 32.84 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Impact A bug was found in containerd's CRI implementation where programs inside a container can cause the containerd daemon to consume memory without bound during invocation of the ExecSync API. This can cause containerd to consume all available memory on the computer, denying service to other legitimate workloads. Kubernetes and crictl can both be configured to use containerd's CRI implementation; ExecSync may be used when running probes or when executing processes via an "exec" facility. Patches This bug has been fixed in containerd 1.6.6 and 1.5.13. Users should update to these versions to resolve the issue. Workarounds Ensure that only trusted images and commands are used. References Similar fix in cri-o's CRI implementation https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o/security/advisories/GHSA-fcm2-6c3h-pg6j Credits The containerd project would like to thank David Korczynski and Adam Korczynski of ADA Logics for responsibly disclosing this issue in accordance with the containerd security…

Published by the source

6 Jun 2022, 22:07 UTC

Last modified by the source

31 Jan 2024, 15:32 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:03 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2022-31030

Advisory: containerd CRI plugin: Host memory exhaustion through ExecSync
IDs: CVE-2022-31030, GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2022-31030 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:03 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: github.com/containerd/containerd 1.6.6, 1.5.13. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/containerd/containerd: affected < 1.5.13; >= 1.6.0, < 1.6.6; fixed in 1.5.13, 1.6.6

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/containerd/containerd: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/containerd/containerd.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-5ffw-gxpp-mxpf lists affected ranges: Go github.com/containerd/containerd >=0 =1.6.0 <1.6.6)

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