CVE-2026-33414 — PowerShell Command Injection in Podman HyperV Machine
Podman is a tool for managing OCI containers and pods. Versions 4.8.0 through 5.8.1 contain a command injection vulnerability in the HyperV machine backend in pkg/machine/hyperv/stubber.go, where the VM image path is inserted into a PowerShell double-quoted string without sanitization, allowing $() subexpression injection. Because PowerShell evaluates subexpressions inside double-quoted strings before executing the outer command, an attacker who can control the VM image path through a crafted machine name or image directory can execute arbitrary PowerShell commands with the privileges of the Podman process. On typical Windows installations this means SYSTEM-level code execution, and only Windows is affected as the code is exclusive to the HyperV backend. This issue has been patched in version 5.8.2.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.7% (30-day exploitation probability)+8
- Technical severity (high)+6
- Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Containers Podman, Podman Project Podman).
- Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (injection), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Containers | Podman | version >= 4.8.0, < 5.8.2 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| Podman Project | Podman | ≥ 4.8.0 and < 5.8.2 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | CVSS 4.0 | Medium | — | — | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 4.0 | CVSS 4.0 | Medium | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 8.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 2.0 | 6.0 | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.1 | 6.0 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.68%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Look for parameters with command/query metacharacters and unexpected child processes of the service.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · containers/podman
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Fix documented
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Modified
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
6 on the record
- github.com/containers/podman/security/advisories/GHSA-hc8w-h2mf-hp59
- github.com/containers/podman/commit/571c842bd357ee626019ea97d030fb772fc654ed
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi
- access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-33414
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:8211
- security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-33414.json
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-55686 Podman: WORKDIR symlink traversal vulnerability Jun 26, 2026
- High CVE-2026-57231 Podman: Malformed Image can trick podman run into leaking host environment variables into the container Jun 26, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-33414 is "PowerShell Command Injection in Podman HyperV Machine", rated High. It affects Podman (Containers); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.68% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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