CVE-2023-28642 | AppArmor bypass with symlinked /proc in runc

runc is a CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification. It was found that AppArmor can be bypassed when `/proc` inside the container is symlinked with a specific mount configuration. This issue has been fixed in runc version 1.1.5, by prohibiting symlinked `/proc`. See PR #3785 for details. users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should avoid using an untrusted container image.

Published: 2023-03-29 Last update: 2024-12-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-28642 is rated Low Risk (33.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.34%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-28642

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.04% 0.34% +0.30%
2 2025-03-30 0.11% 0.04% -0.06%
3 2025-03-29 — 0.11% —

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-28642

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.1 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 1.8 3.7 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-28642

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-28642

GHSA-g2j6-57v7-gm8c · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: go — runc AppArmor bypass with symlinked /proc

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-28642

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2023-28642: 1 source package rows (runc); 22 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-community, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 9, open 13. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-28642
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-28642 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (runc), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-28642
gentoo normal CVE-2023-28642: 1 GLSA(s) (202408-25), 1 atom(s) (app-containers/runc); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2023-28642
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-28642
suse medium CVE-2023-28642 severity moderate: SUSE including 245 source package names (1.2.3-2.2.63:runc-1.1.5-150000.41.1, 1.2.3-3.2.78:runc-1.1.5-150000.41.1, …), 529 product×package rows across 297 product lines (Container rancher/elemental-teal-iso/5.4, Container rancher/elemental-teal-rt/5.4, … (297 product lines)): Fixed 382, Known Affected 147. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-28642/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-28642 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (runc), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 7, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-28642

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-28642

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linuxfoundation runc < 1.1.5 cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:runc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-28642

cvelogic Threat Intelligence