Podman 4.4.0-5.8.8/6.1.3 Ignoring --cap-drop via checkpoint annotation
CVE-2026-94603 Published on October 13, 2026
Podman: The `podman run` command can be instructed to disable almost all sandboxing by image annotation
Podman is a tool for managing OCI containers and pods. From 4.4.0 until 5.8.8 and 6.1.3, podman run treats an image carrying the io.podman.annotations.checkpoint.runtime.name annotation as a checkpoint and silently ignores user-supplied container creation restrictions such as --cap-drop=ALL, allowing image-controlled checkpoint state to select weaker sandbox settings and capabilities. Rootless containers are not affected because checkpoint and restore are unavailable in that mode. This issue is fixed in versions 5.8.8 and 6.1.3.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-94603 can be exploited with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be critical as this vulnerability has a high impact to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of this component.
Weakness Type
Protection Mechanism Failure
The product does not use or incorrectly uses a protection mechanism that provides sufficient defense against directed attacks against the product. This weakness covers three distinct situations. A "missing" protection mechanism occurs when the application does not define any mechanism against a certain class of attack. An "insufficient" protection mechanism might provide some defenses - for example, against the most common attacks - but it does not protect against everything that is intended. Finally, an "ignored" mechanism occurs when a mechanism is available and in active use within the product, but the developer has not applied it in some code path.
Affected Versions
podman-container-tools podman:- Version >= 4.4.0, < 5.8.8 is affected.
- Version >= 6.0.0, < 6.1.3 is affected.