CVE-2026-57231: Podman host environment variable leak via malformed container image

CVE-2026-57231 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.5 · Published 2026-06-26

Podman is a tool used to manage and run software containers. A security flaw allows specially crafted container images to steal sensitive information, such as passwords or API keys, from the host computer's environment variables. This could lead to the exposure of private credentials used by the person or system launching the container.

Technologies: github.com/containers/libpod (Go), github.com/containers/podman (Go), github.com/containers/podman/v2 (Go), github.com/containers/podman/v3 (Go), github.com/containers/podman/v4 (Go), github.com/containers/podman/v5 (Go). Vendors: Go.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-57231 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-57231 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-57231?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.5, published 26 June 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
github.com/containers/libpod (Go) SEMVER:introduced=1.8.1; github.com/containers/podman (Go) >= 1.8.1, < 5.8.4, SEMVER:introduced=0, SEMVER:introduced=1.8.1; github.com/containers/podman/v2 (Go) <= 2.2.1, SEMVER:introduced=0, SEMVER:introduced=0,last_affected=2.2.1; github.com/containers/podman/v3 (Go) <= 3.4.7, SEMVER:introduced=0, SEMVER:introduced=0,last_affected=3.4.7; and 3 more.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-57231?
Yes. github.com/containers/podman/v5 (Go): upgrade to 5.8.4 or later; go.podman.io/podman/v6 (Go): upgrade to 6.0.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-57231 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-57231?
Check whether you run github.com/containers/libpod (Go), github.com/containers/podman (Go), github.com/containers/podman/v2 (Go) or one of the others listed 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/containers/podman/v5 (Go): upgrade to 5.8.4 or later
    go get github.com/containers/podman/v5@v5.8.4
  • go.podman.io/podman/v6 (Go): upgrade to 6.0.0 or later
    go get go.podman.io/podman/v6@v6.0.0

Technical details

A vulnerability in Podman's environment variable parsing logic allows for host environment variable injection. The 'podman run' command's logic for importing host variables (using --env KEY or --env *) was incorrectly applied to the internal image configuration environment section. An attacker can create a malformed OCI image containing environment variables without values (e.g., 'SECRET_KEY' instead of 'SECRET_KEY=value'). When Podman runs such an image, it treats the missing value as a request to import the corresponding variable from the host's shell session. This can be escalated to exfiltrate all host environment variables if the image contains an asterisk (*) as a key. The fix enforces strict 'key=value' formatting for image-defined environment variables as required by the OCI image specification.

Affected products

  • podman-container-tools Podman >= 1.8.1, < 5.8.4; >= 6.0.0-alpha, < 6.0.0

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-57231
  • GHSA-4hq8-gpf5-8p68
  • GO-2026-6594

Timeline

  • 2026-06-24: advisory: GitHub Security Advisory published
  • 2026-06-26: disclosed: CVE published to NVD

References

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