Critical severity · published Aug 7, 2026
CVE-2026-47243
Kata guest escape: runtime-rs guest-root to host-root escape via virtiofs
9.2
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to 3.31.0, the runtime-rs standalone virtio-fs path is vulnerable to a guest-root to host-root escape. In this configuration, Kata runs the host virtiofsd as root with --sandbox none --seccomp none, so an attacker with root-equivalent access inside the guest can bypass the guest virtio-fs client entirely by taking over the virtio-fs PCI device and building a virtqueue in userspace to submit raw FUSE requests directly to the host virtiofsd. A crafted FUSE_SYMLINK request whose new symlink name is an absolute host path is honored outside the configured shared directory, allowing guest root to create root-owned symlinks in sensitive host locations such as /etc/cron.d. By pointing such a symlink at a guest-controlled crontab payload reachable through a live runtime process's mount namespace, the attacker causes the host cron daemon to execute that payload as host root, crossing the Kata isolation boundary. This issue is fixed in version 3.31.0.
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 9% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
KA
kata-containers · kata-containers
< 3.31.0 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-47243
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-47243
github.com
https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/security/advisories/GHSA-2gv2-cffp-j227
www.openwall.com
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/21/14
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