Public vulnerability disclosure

CVE-2026-121876

Sandboxed-containers: kernel: systemd-gpt-auto-generator: guest data leakage in confidential computing (sandboxed containers)

publishedCWE-359

A flaw was found in the interaction between systemd-gpt-auto-generator and confidential computing guest VM images in OpenShift Sandboxed Containers (confidential peer pods). systemd-gpt-auto-generator automatically discovers and mounts GPT partitions by type GUID at boot with no user confirmation. In the confidential computing threat model, where the host/hypervisor is the adversary, a malicious host can inject partitions into the guest's virtual disk. Most critically, injecting a swap partition causes the guest kernel to page out TEE-encrypted memory to a host-controlled block device, breaking the confidentiality guarantee of the hardware TEE (AMD SEV-SNP, Intel TDX). The PodVM images use a GPT-partitioned disk with dm-verity on the root partition. However, the roothash= kernel parameter only disables root auto-discovery — non-root partitions (swap, /home, /var, /srv, /var/tmp) are still auto-discovered and mounted. The generator is shipped unmasked in the RHEL systemd-udev subpackage, and no kernel command line parameter in the measured UKI addon disables it. Additionally, the PodVM measurement script captures PCRs 3, 9, 11, and 12, but not PCR 5 (GPT partition table), so partition table modifications are not detected by remote attestation.

Technical severity7.9 highCVSS 3.1 · CNA: redhat
Published2026-11-12Source updated 2026-11-12
Collected2026-11-122 attributed sources

Fixes and workarounds

Workaround

Add systemd.gpt_auto=0 to the measured kernel command line (UKI addon) to completely disable systemd-gpt-auto-generator. Since the PodVM already uses explicit partition layout and dm-verity, auto-discovery is unnecessary. Alternative mitigations: - Disable swap specifically: add systemd.swap=0 to the kernel command line - Mask the generator in the guest image: ln -sf /dev/null /etc/systemd/system-generators/systemd-gpt-auto-generator - Include PCR 5 in the PodVM measurement script alongside PCRs 3, 9, 11, 12 - For systemd 254+: set restrictive image policy via systemd.image_policy=root=verity+signed+encrypted+unprotected+absent:swap=absent:home=absent:srv=absent:var=absent:tmp=absent

Source: CNA: redhat

Affected products and versions

Affected products, source version ranges and reporting authorities
ProductVersionsAuthority
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Red Hat
kernel
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Red Hat
kernel
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Red Hat
kernel
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Red Hat
kernel-rt
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Red Hat
kernel
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Red Hat
kernel-rt
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Red Hat
kernel
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Red Hat
kernel-rt
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Red Hat
openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Red Hat
openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Red Hat
openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9
https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/
Range not reported
Other versions: affected
CNA: redhat

Version ranges are source assertions. Check the vendor advisory and your installed configuration before determining exposure.

CVSS assessments

CVSS scores, vectors and reporting authorities
Version / scoreVectorAuthority
3.1 / 7.9
high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:NCNA: redhat
3.1 / 7.9
high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:NNVD: [email protected]

Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

References

For agents and automation

Read public disclosures for free as Markdown or JSON. Compatible browsers also expose native WebMCP tools to search disclosures, read this page, and discover API access.

Use the ontology-linked Cyber API with x402 pay per request, or a Y2 Pro or Elite API key with the intel:cyber scope.

Endpoints and access details

https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves
https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves/{cveId}

A workspace owner or admin can create a Pro or Elite API key. Send Authorization: Bearer <Y2_API_KEY> from your trusted agent runtime.

For x402, omit Authorization and read the HTTP 402 payment challenge before signing a retry. Public browser tools do not make payments.

Agent access JSON · OpenAPI · CVE API guide