CVE-2026-77176: External Control of File Name or Path in Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

This vulnerability arises from insufficient validation of mount and storage rules in Kata Containers when genpolicy is used for Confidential Containers guest protection. A malicious host operator with low privileges can exploit this to mount arbitrary container-rootfs paths over sensitive host locations or provision arbitrary content. This can lead to exposure of confidential information and acceptance of attacker-controlled input, violating confidentiality and integrity. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 8.1 (high), with network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and unchanged scope. The vulnerability affects Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 and related Kata Containers configurations. No official fix or patch has been confirmed yet according to the vendor advisory, which is under investigation. Red Hat remains the authoritative source for updates.

The vulnerability allows a malicious host operator to bypass mount and storage restrictions, potentially exposing sensitive host files or directories to containers or enabling injection of attacker-controlled content. This compromises confidentiality and integrity of the system. Availability impact is not indicated. The flaw could lead to unauthorized read or modification of files, possibly enabling further attacks or data leakage within containerized environments.

Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the Red Hat advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-77176 for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is released, users should monitor vendor communications. No vendor-provided mitigations or workarounds are currently documented. Avoid running untrusted host operators or restrict their privileges where possible to reduce risk.