CVE-2024-21626VulnerabilityPublished 2 Feb 2024Updated 29 Oct 2026

Red Hat Security Advisory: runc security update

Affects Red Hat runcSource GCVE Database

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Public exploit available (Metasploit) · 18% EPSS.

Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 07:15 UTC

Severity

High

Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

EPSS: 18.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 97% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 2 Feb 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: evidence found.
1 Metasploit module
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

Red Hat has released security updates that fix this vulnerability in runC for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 and its extended update support versions. Users should apply the available updates as described in the Red Hat advisory (RHSA-2024:0670) and the referenced update article (https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258) to remediate the issue. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond applying the official patches.

Description

A file descriptor leak vulnerability (CVE-2024-21626) was identified in the runC container runtime tool used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. This issue could potentially lead to resource exhaustion or unintended information disclosure. Red Hat has released security updates to address this vulnerability in various Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 variants. The vulnerability is rated as important by Red Hat and has associated public exploit code available via Metasploit.

Impact

The vulnerability can lead to a file descriptor leak, which may cause resource exhaustion or unintended exposure of sensitive information within containerized environments using runC. This can impact the stability and security of container runtimes on affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 systems. The presence of public exploit code increases the risk of exploitation, although no active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed.

Summary

The runC tool, a lightweight and portable implementation of the Open Container Format (OCF) container runtime, contains a file descriptor leak vulnerability tracked as CVE-2024-21626. This flaw could allow an attacker to exhaust system resources or leak sensitive information by improperly managing file descriptors. Red Hat has issued security advisories and updates for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 and its extended update support versions to fix this issue. Public exploit code exists in Metasploit, indicating the vulnerability is exploitable, though no confirmed exploitation in the wild has been reported. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information).

CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #20OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V7.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Subverting Environment Variable Values (opens in a new tab)
ICMP Echo Request Ping (opens in a new tab)
TCP SYN Scan (opens in a new tab)
Enumerate Mail Exchange (MX) Records (opens in a new tab)
DNS Zone Transfers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 29 Oct 2026, 07:14 UTC

Public exploits and detection1 Metasploit module, GitHub proofs of concept

WeaknessesCWE-200

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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