CVE-2026-53941: Inspektor Gadget ldcache parser denial of service

CVE-2026-53941 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4 · Published 2026-09-15

Inspektor Gadget is a container observability tool that uses eBPF probes to trace system calls and library functions in containers. An unprivileged container can craft a malicious ld.so.cache file that causes Inspektor Gadget to consume excessive CPU (~53 seconds) when attaching probes, which blocks other containers from starting on the same Docker host. No special container privileges are required—any container image can embed the crafted file or mount it via a volume.

Technologies: github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget (Go). Vendors: Go, Unknown.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-53941 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-53941 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-53941?
Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4, published 15 September 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget (Go) >= 0.27.0, < 0.53.1, SEMVER:introduced=0.27.0,fixed=0.53.1; Unknown Inspektor Gadget 0.27.0 to 0.53.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-53941?
Yes. github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget (Go): upgrade to 0.53.1 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-53941 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a hosted service.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-53941?
Check whether you run github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget (Go) or Unknown Inspektor Gadget at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget (Go): upgrade to 0.53.1 or later
    go get github.com/inspektor-gadget/inspektor-gadget@v0.53.1

Technical details

The vulnerability exists in Inspektor Gadget's ld.so.cache parser (pkg/uprobetracer/ldcache_parser.go and pkg/uprobetracer/bytes.go). Three chained issues enable the attack: (1) quadratic string concatenation in readStringFromBytes using Go's immutable strings (res += string(data[i])), causing O(n²) complexity; (2) insufficient validation of the EntryCount field read from the untrusted ld.so.cache, allowing loops over ~700,000 iterations; (3) integer overflow in cache1Len computation using uint32 arithmetic, leading to format misdetection. A malicious 16MB ld.so.cache with crafted strings triggers ~53 seconds of CPU burn. Since Inspektor Gadget uses fanotify hooks to pause container startup during uprobe attachment, this blocks the entire Docker runtime from starting new containers, creating a host-wide denial of service. The vulnerability affects all versions from 0.27.0 through 0.53.0; patch available in 0.53.1.

Affected products

  • Inspektor Gadget Inspektor Gadget 0.27.0 to 0.53.0

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-53941
  • GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q
  • GO-2026-6254

Timeline

  • 2026-08-19: advisory: GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-vjhx-2cqw-3q6q published
  • 2026-06-16: patched: Fix released in version 0.53.1

References

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