devices resource list treated as a blacklist by default

Exploitation

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

CVSS

not scored

EPSS

No dated EPSS signal available.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Impact Contrary to the OCI runtime specification, runc's implementation of the linux.resources.devices list was a black-list by default. This means that users who created their own config.json objects and didn't prefix a deny-all rule ({"allow": false, "permissions": "rwm"} or equivalent) were not provided protection by the devices cgroup. This would allow malicious containers (with sufficient privileges) to create arbitrary device inodes (assuming they have CAPMKNOD) and operate on any device inodes they may have access to (assuming they have regular Unix DAC permissions). However, most (if not all) programs that make use of runc include this deny-all rule. This was most likely added before the specification mandated a white-list of devices, and the fact that all programs wrote their own deny-all rule obscured the existence of this bug for several years. In fact, even the specification's examples include a default deny-all rule! We therefore believe that while this is a security bug…

Published by the source

20 Dec 2021, 18:21 UTC

Last modified by the source

9 Jan 2023, 05:05 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:54 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-g54h-m393-cpwq

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: GHSA-g54h-m393-cpwq

Advisory: devices resource list treated as a blacklist by default
IDs: GHSA-g54h-m393-cpwq
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-g54h-m393-cpwq (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:54 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Unrated
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: github.com/opencontainers/runc 1.0.0-rc91. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/opencontainers/runc: affected <= 1.0.0-rc90; fixed in 1.0.0-rc91

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/opencontainers/runc: 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/opencontainers/runc.
- 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-g54h-m393-cpwq (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-g54h-m393-cpwq lists affected ranges: Go github.com/opencontainers/runc >=0 <=1.0.0-rc90)

Commands are suggestions: review each one before running it.