How severe is CVE-2021-20188?

CVE-2021-20188 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.0, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2021-20188 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (17th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2021-20188?

CVE-2021-20188 primarily affects Redhat Openshift Container Platform. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2021-20188?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2021-20188 published?

CVE-2021-20188 was published on 2021-02-11 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2021-20188

CVE-2021-20188 is a high-severity vulnerability in Redhat Openshift Container Platform with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.0. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-863.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.0)
CVSS v2: 6.9
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (17th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-863
Affected product: Redhat Openshift Container Platform
Published: 2021-02-11
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A flaw was found in podman before 1.7.0. File permissions for non-root users running in a privileged container are not correctly checked. This flaw can be abused by a low-privileged user inside the container to access any other file in the container, even if owned by the root user inside the container. It does not allow to directly escape the container, though being a privileged container means that a lot of security features are disabled when running the container. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-20188?: A flaw was found in podman before 1.7.0. File permissions for non-root users running in a privileged container are not correctly checked. This flaw can be abused by a low-privileged user inside the container to access any other file in the container, even if owned by the root user inside the container. It does not allow to directly escape the container, though being a privileged container means that a lot of security features are disabled when running the container. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.
How severe is CVE-2021-20188?: CVE-2021-20188 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.0, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2021-20188 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (17th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-20188?: CVE-2021-20188 primarily affects Redhat Openshift Container Platform. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-20188?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2021-20188 published?: CVE-2021-20188 was published on 2021-02-11 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1915734

Affected products (4)

cpe:2.3:a:podman_project:podman:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openshift_container_platform:3.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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