Podman kube play command may overwrite host files
CVE: CVE-2025-9566
Component: podman
CWE: CWE-22
Severity: Important
CVSS v3: 8.3/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Release date: 2025-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

There's a vulnerability in podman where an attacker may use the kube play command to overwrite host files when the kube file container a Secrete or a ConfigMap volume mount and such volume contains a symbolic link to a host file path. In a successful attack, the attacker can only control the target file to be overwritten but not the content to be written into the file.

Binary-Affected: podman
Upstream-version-introduced: v4.0.0
Upstream-version-fixed: v5.6.1

Statement: The Red Hat Product Security team has evaluated this vulnerability as having the Important severity. This happens because of the consequences of an successful attack and the low complexity (AC:L) on exploiting this vulnerability. Although the attacker cannot control the content written to the target file, depending on which file was targeted, the exploitation of this flaw may lead sensitive data corruption (I:H) and leading the system to crash resulting in a Denial of Service attack (A:H).

Remediation:
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.12 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.12/html/release_notes
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.12 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.12/html/release_notes

You may download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests may be found at https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags.

              The sha value for the release is as follows:

              (For x86_64 architecture)
              The image digest is sha256:d26fd3fd30ac6ae13f2779045d4e2defbf77aa24db5393d91df19488fd42504d

All OpenShift Container Platform 4.12 users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc) or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.12/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-within-minor.
See the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.14/html/release_notes/

Details on how to access this content are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.14/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
See the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.15/html/release_notes/

Details on how to access this content are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.15/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.16 see the following documentation,
which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions
on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata
update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.16/html/release_notes/
See the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html/release_notes/

Details on how to access this content are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
See the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.20/release_notes/ocp-4-17-release-notes.html

Details on how to access this content are available at https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.20/updating/updating-cluster-cli.html
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.13 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.13/html/release_notes

You may download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests may be found at https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags.

      The sha values for the release are as follows:

      (For x86_64 architecture)
      The image digest is {x86_64_DIGEST}

      (For s390x architecture)
      The image digest is {s390x_DIGEST}

      (For ppc64le architecture)
      The image digest is {ppc64le_DIGEST}

      (For aarch64 architecture)
      The image digest is {aarch64_DIGEST}

All OpenShift Container Platform 4.13 users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc) or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.13/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-within-minor.
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 see the following documentation,
which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions
on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata
update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.14/html/release_notes/

You may download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata
for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests
may be found at
https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags.

The sha values for the release are as follows:

      (For x86_64 architecture)
      The image digest is {x864_DIGEST}

      (For s390x architecture)
      The image digest is {s390x_DIGEST}

      (For ppc64le architecture)
      The image digest is {ppc64le_DIGEST}

      (For aarch64 architecture)
      The image digest is {aarch64_DIGEST}

All OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 users are advised to upgrade to these
updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate
release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc)
or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at
https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.14/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.17 see the following documentation,
which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions
on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata
update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.17/html/release_notes/

You may download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata
for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests
may be found at
https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags.

The sha values for the release are as follows:

      (For x86_64 architecture)
      The image digest is {x864_DIGEST}

      (For s390x architecture)
      The image digest is {s390x_DIGEST}

      (For ppc64le architecture)
      The image digest is {ppc64le_DIGEST}

      (For aarch64 architecture)
      The image digest is {aarch64_DIGEST}

All OpenShift Container Platform 4.17 users are advised to upgrade to these
updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate
release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc)
or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at
https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.17/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html/release_notes/

You may download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests may be found at https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags.

The sha values for the release are as follows:

      (For x86_64 architecture)
      The image digest is {x864_DIGEST}

      (For s390x architecture)
      The image digest is {s390x_DIGEST}

      (For ppc64le architecture)
      The image digest is {ppc64le_DIGEST}

      (For aarch64 architecture)
      The image digest is {aarch64_DIGEST}

All OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc) or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
See the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.19/html/release_notes/

Details on how to access this content are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.19/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.19 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.19/html/release_notes/

You may download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests may be found at https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags.

The sha values for the release are as follows:

      (For x86_64 architecture)
      The image digest is {x864_DIGEST}

      (For s390x architecture)
      The image digest is {s390x_DIGEST}

      (For ppc64le architecture)
      The image digest is {ppc64le_DIGEST}

      (For aarch64 architecture)
      The image digest is {aarch64_DIGEST}

All OpenShift Container Platform 4.19 users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc) or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.19/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.20 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update:

https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.20/html/release_notes/

You may download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests may be found at https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags.

The sha values for the release are as follows:

      (For x86_64 architecture)
      The image digest is {x864_DIGEST}

      (For s390x architecture)
      The image digest is {s390x_DIGEST}

      (For ppc64le architecture)
      The image digest is {ppc64le_DIGEST}

      (For aarch64 architecture)
      The image digest is {aarch64_DIGEST}

All OpenShift Container Platform 4.20 users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc) or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.20/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
Before applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied.
For details on how to apply this update, refer to:
https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
Red Hat advises to not run the podman kube play command with untrusted Kubernetes YAML file as input, additionally review the Kubernetes YAML file before running it through podman may help to catch maliciously crafted secretes or volumes that may be used to exploit this vulnerability.