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Medium, CVSS 6.9amended

Uprobe gadgets: unprivileged container's ld.so.cache causes high CPU utilization and container startup DoS

CVE-2026-53941GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q

What to do

Vendor fix available. Upgrade each affected package to the fixed version on its release line (github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget 0.53.1), redeploy, then verify what is actually installed.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
6.9 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source
EPSS
  • CVE-2026-53941: 0.52% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 44.48 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary An unprivileged container can block all other containers from starting on the same host by placing a crafted /etc/ld.so.cache file in its filesystem. When Inspektor Gadget attaches any uprobe-based gadget, it parses this file in the container startup path. A malicious cache causes ~53 seconds of CPU burn, during which Docker cannot start any other container. No special capabilities are required. Severity To be assessed — Availability impact, no confidentiality or integrity impact. Affected Versions All versions of Inspektor Gadget that support uprobe-based gadgets (tracemalloc, traceopen, tracessl, tracegrpc, etc.). Description When Inspektor Gadget attaches uprobe-based gadgets to containers, it resolves library paths by parsing the container's /etc/ld.so.cache file (pkg/uprobetracer/ldcacheparser.go). This file is fully controlled by the container. The parser has three vulnerabilities: 1. Quadratic string building (pkg/uprobetracer/bytes.go:36-44): The readStringFromBytes…

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 4 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q

  2. Revision 3 · amended ·

    Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

  3. Revision 2 · amended ·

    Amended from osv record GO-2026-6254

  4. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from osv record GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q

Agent brief

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-53941

Advisory: Uprobe gadgets: unprivileged container's ld.so.cache causes high CPU utilization and container startup DoS
IDs: CVE-2026-53941, GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-53941 (revision 4, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:28 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.9)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget 0.53.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget: affected >= 0.27.0, < 0.53.1; fixed in 0.53.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget: 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/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget.
- 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://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q (OSV record GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q lists affected ranges: Go github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget >=0.27.0 <0.53.1 (fixed))
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GO-2026-6254 (OSV record GO-2026-6254 lists affected ranges: Go github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget >=0.27.0 <0.53.1 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q lists affected ranges: Go github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget >=0.27.0 <0.53.1)

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