---
id: "CVE-2026-16487"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-16487"]
title: "bootc: CVE-2026-16487 rejected, not a vulnerability per Red Hat"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "withdrawn"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["bootc", "image-mode", "infrastructure", "red-hat-enterprise-linux"]
not_affected_if: ["default-config"]
published_at: "2026-10-19T06:17:24+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:17+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:12:43+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16487", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:17+00:00"}]
---

# bootc: CVE-2026-16487 rejected, not a vulnerability per Red Hat

CVE-2026-16487 was rejected by Red Hat Product Security, which determined it is not a vulnerability in bootc or containers-common. The record describes default image signature policy and expected /var persistence across rollback, and no exploitable flaw is reported.

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

## How to check

- unknown

## Fix

- No fix: the CVE is withdrawn and Red Hat says it is not a vulnerability.
- For hardening anyway, review `/etc/containers/policy.json` and consider `bootc enforce-container-sigpolicy` to require image signatures.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:17+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16487

## From the sources

Rejected reason: Red Hat Product Security has determined that this is not a vulnerability in bootc or containers-common. bootc fetches images under /etc/containers/policy.json. The shipped default is insecureAcceptAnything for registries without an explicit signature requirement; registry.redhat.io and registry.access.redhat.com require signatures. Updating a mutable tag requires the ability to publish to the reference an administrator has already configured the host to follow. Requiring signatures is available through that policy and through bootc enforce-container-sigpolicy, which is off by default. Persistence of /var across bootc rollback is expected image-mode behavior.

---

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