Kata Containers: Config Path Annotation Arbitrary File Loading (CVE-2026-50540) | HOL Guard CVE

Critical · CVSS 9.6CVE-2026-50540

Kata Containers: Config Path Annotation Arbitrary File Loading

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-50540 records a Critical severity (CVSS 9.6) vulnerability in Kata Containers: Config Path Annotation Arbitrary File Loading. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps kata-containers/kata-containers (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Aug 7, 2026Updated Sep 9, 2026Source checked Sep 21, 2026First seen by HOL Aug 7, 2026Material review Sep 9, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Critical · CVSS 9.6
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Not reported

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 9.6. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps kata-containers/kata-containers (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
kata-containers/kata-containersgeneric	< 4.0.0	Not reported

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for kata-containers/kata-containers.
Review the reported fix. Monitor this advisory for an available fix and review any installs of the affected package.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Aug 7, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 9, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Aug 7, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

Kata Containers is an open source project focusing on a standard implementation of lightweight Virtual Machines (VMs) that perform like containers. Prior to version 4.0.0, kata-runtime is vulnerable to host code execution via an unvalidated configuration path annotation. The runtime accepts an arbitrary io.katacontainers.config_path pod annotation and loads the referenced host TOML file without restriction. As a result, a pod user who can place a file at a host-visible path can supply a configuration that selects an attacker-controlled hypervisor or virtio-fs daemon binary, executing code as root on the host. This issue is fixed in version 4.0.0.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.