Description
lxc-user-nic in Linux Containers (LXC) allows local users with a lxc-usernet allocation to create network interfaces on the host and choose the name of those interfaces by leveraging lack of netns ownership check.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | lxc | 1:2.0.7-2 | — |
| Debian 13 | lxc | 1:2.0.7-2 | — |
| Debian 12 | lxc | 1:2.0.7-2 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | lxc | 2.0.7-0ubuntu1~16.04.2 | USN-3224-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | lxc | 1.0.9-0ubuntu3 | USN-3224-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | lxc | 4.0.9-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11030-1 |
Advisories 2
- USN-3224-1 lxc vulnerability Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 22, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11030-1 liblxc-devel-4.0.9-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- [lxc-devel] 20170309 Security fix for CVE-2017-5985 (lxc-user-nic) mailing-list
- https://github.com/lxc/lxc/commit/16af238036a5464ae8f2420ed3af214f0de875f9
- 96777 vdb-entry
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/lxc/+bug/1654676
- USN-3224-1 vendor-advisory
- [oss-security] 20170309 LXC: CVE-2017-5985: lxc-user-nic didn't verify network namespace ownership mailing-list
- openSUSE-SU-2019:1481 vendor-advisory