Container Escape Vulnerabilities in runc via /dev/console Mount Races
Multiple vulnerabilities were discovered in runc, the container runtime used by Docker, Kubernetes, and other platforms, that allow attackers to escape container isolation. One of the critical flaws, tracked as CVE-2025-52565, arises from insufficient validation during the bind-mounting of /dev/pts/$n to /dev/console inside containers. Attackers can exploit this race condition to redirect the mount and gain write access to protected files in the procfs, such as /proc/sysrq-trigger or /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern, potentially leading to denial of service or container breakout. The vulnerability affects runc versions 1.0.0-rc3 through 1.2.7, 1.3.0-rc.1 through 1.3.2, and 1.4.0-rc.1 through 1.4.0-rc.2, and has been addressed in versions 1.2.8, 1.3.3, and 1.4.0-rc.3.
Exploitation of CVE-2025-52565 requires the ability to start containers with custom mount configurations, making environments that run untrusted container images or Dockerfiles particularly vulnerable. No active exploits have been reported as of the disclosure, but security researchers recommend updating to the patched runc versions and monitoring for suspicious container activity. The vulnerability is similar in concept to CVE-2025-31133 but targets a different aspect of the container initialization process, specifically the timing and validation of the /dev/console mount before security protections are fully applied.
Timeline
Nov 9, 2025
Broader reporting detailed affected versions and mitigations
Subsequent reporting summarized that two of the runC flaws affected all versions and the third affected versions 1.0.0-rc3 and later, with fixes available in 1.2.8, 1.3.3, 1.4.0-rc.3, and later. Reports also highlighted mitigations such as enabling user namespaces, avoiding host-root mappings, and using rootless containers.
Nov 6, 2025
CVE-2025-52565 was cataloged in vulnerability feeds
CVE-2025-52565 was added to public vulnerability tracking feeds as a high-severity container escape issue tied to /dev/console mount handling and related race conditions in runC. This reflected broader public indexing of the disclosed flaw.
Nov 6, 2025
Vendor and security coverage warned of runC container-escape risk
Security vendors and media, including Sysdig and Fortinet, published analyses highlighting the newly disclosed runC flaws and their impact on Docker and Kubernetes environments. Coverage emphasized that exploitation could let attackers break container isolation, while noting no active exploitation had been reported.
Nov 5, 2025
GitHub advisories disclosed three runC vulnerabilities
GitHub security advisories were published for CVE-2025-31133, CVE-2025-52565, and CVE-2025-52881, describing container escape and denial-of-service risks in runC. The advisories identified issues including masked-path abuse, /dev/console mount races, and procfs write redirects.
Nov 5, 2025
runC fixed three container-escape flaws in new releases
The opencontainers/runc project published patched releases v1.2.8, v1.3.3, and v1.4.0-rc.3 to address three vulnerabilities: CVE-2025-31133, CVE-2025-52565, and CVE-2025-52881. The flaws could enable container escape through mount and symlink race conditions and related arbitrary-write paths.
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