A container privilege escalation flaw was found in certain CodeReady Workspaces images. This issue stems from the /etc/passwd file being created with group-writable permissions during build time. In certain conditions, an attacker who can execute commands within an affected container, even as a non-root user, can leverage their membership in the root group to modify the /etc/passwd file. This could allow the attacker to add a new user with any arbitrary UID, including UID 0, leading to full root privileges within the container.
History

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Moderate


Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Tue, 02 Dec 2025 20:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A container privilege escalation flaw was found in certain CodeReady Workspaces images. This issue stems from the /etc/passwd file being created with group-writable permissions during build time. In certain conditions, an attacker who can execute commands within an affected container, even as a non-root user, can leverage their membership in the root group to modify the /etc/passwd file. This could allow the attacker to add a new user with any arbitrary UID, including UID 0, leading to full root privileges within the container.
Title Codeready-ws: privilege escalation via excessive /etc/passwd permissions
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat openshift Devspaces
Weaknesses CWE-276
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_devspaces:3:
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat openshift Devspaces
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.2, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published: 2025-12-02T18:53:35.641Z

Updated: 2025-12-02T20:24:29.794Z

Reserved: 2025-08-21T14:40:40.822Z

Link: CVE-2025-57850

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2025-12-02T19:35:07.971Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2025-12-02T19:15:50.183

Modified: 2025-12-04T17:15:25.860

Link: CVE-2025-57850

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2025-12-02T15:49:00Z

Links: CVE-2025-57850 - Bugzilla