CVE-2025-57850
📋 TL;DR
A container privilege escalation vulnerability in CodeReady Workspaces images allows attackers with container command execution to modify the /etc/passwd file due to improper group-writable permissions. This enables adding users with UID 0, granting full root privileges within affected containers. Organizations using vulnerable CodeReady Workspaces container images are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full container compromise with root privileges, allowing complete control over container resources, data exfiltration, and potential lateral movement to other containers or the host system.
Likely Case
Privilege escalation within the container to root, enabling installation of backdoors, credential theft, and persistence mechanisms.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if containers run with minimal privileges, proper network segmentation, and regular patching cycles.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires existing container access; attacker must be able to execute commands within container as non-root user who is member of root group
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Red Hat advisory for specific patched versions
Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-57850
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check Red Hat advisory for affected versions. 2. Update to patched CodeReady Workspaces container images. 3. Rebuild and redeploy containers using updated images. 4. Verify /etc/passwd permissions are not group-writable.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Fix /etc/passwd permissions
linuxManually correct permissions on /etc/passwd file within running containers
chmod g-w /etc/passwd
Rebuild container images
linuxRebuild container images with corrected /etc/passwd permissions
RUN chmod g-w /etc/passwd
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict container runtime security policies to prevent privilege escalation
- Monitor for unauthorized /etc/passwd modifications using file integrity monitoring
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check /etc/passwd permissions in running containers: ls -l /etc/passwd | grep '^-.rw.*root root' should show no group write permissionsCheck Version:
Check container image tags and compare against Red Hat advisory for affected versionsVerify Fix Applied:
Verify /etc/passwd permissions show no 'w' in group field: ls -l /etc/passwd should show permissions like -rw-r--r--📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected user account creation in /etc/passwd
- Permission changes to /etc/passwd file
- Commands attempting to modify system files
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from containers after privilege escalation
SIEM Query:
source="container-logs" AND (event="file_modification" AND file_path="/etc/passwd") OR (event="user_creation" AND container_image="*codeready*workspaces*")