containerd is an open-source container runtime. Prior to 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5, containerd on Linux with the CRI plugin enabled can indefinitely block the drainExecSyncIO goroutine in internal/cri/server/container_execsync.go when CRI ExecSync is used by exec probes or lifecycle hooks that launch long-lived background child processes retaining standard input and output pipes. The input and output drain phase has no default timeout and did not stop when the request context was canceled, so repeated ExecSync invocations can accumulate blocked goroutines and host memory. The resulting resource exhaustion can cause the OOM killer to terminate containerd, leaving the container runtime unavailable until restart. Deployments not using containerds CRI implementation and containers not running on Linux are not affected. This issue is fixed in versions 1.7.35, 2.0.12, 2.2.8, and 2.3.5.
Weakness
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
Potential Mitigations
Mitigation of resource exhaustion attacks requires that the target system either:
The first of these solutions is an issue in itself though, since it may allow attackers to prevent the use of the system by a particular valid user. If the attacker impersonates the valid user, they may be able to prevent the user from accessing the server in question.
The second solution is simply difficult to effectively institute – and even when properly done, it does not provide a full solution. It simply makes the attack require more resources on the part of the attacker.
Related Attack Patterns
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/147.html
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/227.html
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/492.html
References
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/22ccf4314d1fe0834f8e28f10d37d5305ef9880c
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/5a2a3a759b0d2ad8c821b33c3afc20890daf6d81
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/9ec55f024041d0641f6d79841e45c8781141ddaa
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/eebea8c4c912f44b656c8295c9e6607a19b76650
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/commit/ff39a972369e2f12fae561a58d658bbf8f2bc318
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.0.12
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.2.8
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/releases/tag/v2.3.5
- https://github.com/containerd/containerd/security/advisories/GHSA-7jxh-36q5-gcqv