---
id: "CVE-2026-113951"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-113951"]
title: "Container k8s: planted kubeconfig exec plugin runs commands on macOS host"
severity: "high"
cvss: null
epss: 0.00224
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "other"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["container", "developer-workstations", "kubectl", "kubernetes", "macos", "other"]
not_affected_if: ["not-using-container-k8s", "trusted-containers-only"]
published_at: "2026-10-23T21:17:21+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:34+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-113951", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:34+00:00"}, {"source": "epss", "url": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-113951", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00"}]
---

# Container k8s: planted kubeconfig exec plugin runs commands on macOS host

Container, Apple's tool for running Linux containers on macOS, lets an attacker who can write to a k8s cluster container's filesystem plant an exec credential plugin in /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf. When a user later pulls that kubeconfig to the host with container k8s write-config or create and runs kubectl, the plugin executes as the macOS host user, giving the attacker arbitrary command execution on the host.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Check the installed Container version with `container --version` and compare it against `1.5.0`.
- Look for `container k8s` usage on the host, and check whether kubeconfig files written by `container k8s write-config` contain an `exec:` credential plugin block.

## Fix

- Upgrade Apple Container to `1.5.0` or later.
- Inspect any kubeconfig pulled from a cluster container for unexpected `exec:` entries before running kubectl against it.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:34+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-113951
- 2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00 epss https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-113951

## From the sources

If an attacker can write to the filesystem of a container k8s cluster container, they can plant an exec credential plugin in /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf. kubectl will run that plugin as the macOS host user the next time someone pulls the cluster's kubeconfig onto the host with container k8s write-config or create and then runs kubectl against it — turning filesystem access inside an untrusted Linux container into arbitrary command execution on the host. This vulnerability is addressed in Container version 1.5.0.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_