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What is CVE-2020-15157?A medium-severity flaw in Containerd, explained.

Medium severity3 affected products
The short answer

CVE-2020-15157 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 6.1) in Containerd from Linuxfoundation, published on 16 October 2020. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 2.3%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.

Check if it affects you →How to fix it

Published 16 October 2020. Record last updated 18 November 2021. We keep this page's data up to date.

What it does

What is CVE-2020-15157? In plain terms.

It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in, but a person has to take an action first. If it works, the attacker can read data.

The official description

In containerd (an industry-standard container runtime) before version 1.2.14 there is a credential leaking vulnerability. If a container image manifest in the OCI Image format or Docker Image V2 Schema 2 format includes a URL for the location of a specific image layer (otherwise known as a “foreign layer”), the default containerd resolver will follow that URL to attempt to download it. In v1.2.x but not 1.3.0 or later, the default containerd resolver will provide its authentication credentials if the server where the URL is located presents an HTTP 401 status code along with registry-specific HTTP headers. If an attacker publishes a public image with a manifest that directs one of the layers to be fetched from a web server they control and they trick a user or system into pulling the image, they can obtain the credentials used for pulling that image. In some cases, this may be the user's username and password for the registry. In other cases, this may be the credentials attached to the cloud virtual instance which can grant access to other cloud resources in the account. The default containerd resolver is used by the cri-containerd plugin (which can be used by Kubernetes), the ctr development tool, and other client programs that have explicitly linked against it. This vulnerability has been fixed in containerd 1.2.14. containerd 1.3 and later are not affected. If you are using containerd 1.3 or later, you are not affected. If you are using cri-containerd in the 1.2 series or prior, you should ensure you only pull images from trusted sources. Other container runtimes built on top of containerd but not using the default resolver (such as Docker) are not affected.

What kind of flaw is it?

  • CWE-522Insufficiently Protected Credentials
CVSS 3.1 scoreMedium · 6.1

How an attack on it works

Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.

  • Where an attacker can beAnywhere on the internet
  • How hard it is to pull offHard: conditions must line up
  • Login needed firstNo login needed
  • Does someone have to clickYes, a person has to take an action
  • What an attacker getsCan read data

Severity vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

Exploitation

Is CVE-2020-15157 being exploited? Not that we know of.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 2.3%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

Known to be exploitedNoNot on the list of exploited flaws today
Chance of use in the next 30 days2.3%Its EPSS score, from the latest forecast

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Record last updated
How Precursor Intelligence ranks it
39out of 100Low

CVE-2020-15157 scores 39. Action: Monitor.

We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:

  • Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
  • How severe it isStrong factor
  • How widely exposed it isKey context
  • Real threat activity around itKey context

85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.

When CVE-2020-15157 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.

See your own ranked list →
Affected products

Who is affected by CVE-2020-15157? 3 products.

The published record lists 3 products from 3 vendors. Versions are shown as published: "1.2.0 to before 1.2.14" means from 1.2.0 up to, but not including, 1.2.14. If you run one of these, check your version, then go to the fix below.

Remediation

How do I fix CVE-2020-15157? Four steps.

  1. Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
  2. Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the latest update from the vendor. The references list where the vendor has published details.
  3. If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
  4. Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.

References

5 links
Precursor Intelligence

Does CVE-2020-15157 affect you? We'll keep checking.

Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.

  1. Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
  2. We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
  3. Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
  4. Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.
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CVE-2020-15157 is a medium-severity flaw in Containerd from Linuxfoundation, published on 16 October 2020. It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in, but a person has to take an action first. If it works, the attacker can read data.

It scores 6.1 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is medium. Our risk score for CVE-2020-15157 is 39 out of 100, which is Low. Its action is "Monitor". No sign of exploitation and a low forecast. Patch it in your normal update cycle.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 2.3%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

For Containerd from Linuxfoundation: 1.2.0 to before 1.2.14, 1.3.0-beta0, 1.3.0-beta1, 1.3.0-beta2, 1.3.0-rc0, 1.3.0-rc1 and 3 more. The record lists 3 products in all, each with its versions, under "Who is affected" on this page.

Install the update the vendor names in its advisory. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.

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