Path traversal in ReadFile() via container label escapes proc namespace boundary

[Ryujiyasu]

Summary

In manager/container.go, the ReadFile() function uses path.Join with a user-controlled filepath parameter derived from Docker container labels, without any prefix validation. This enables path traversal from within a container's namespace to arbitrary files on the host.

Vulnerable Code

File: cadvisor/manager/container.go:250-272

func (cd *containerData) ReadFile(filepath string, inHostNamespace bool) ([]byte, error) {
    pids, err := cd.getContainerPids(inHostNamespace)
    rootfs := "/"
    if !inHostNamespace {
        rootfs = "/rootfs"
    }
    for _, pid := range pids {
        filePath := path.Join(rootfs, "/proc", pid, "/root", filepath)
        // ↑ NO prefix check: path.Join resolves ".." → escapes proc/PID/root/ boundary
        data, err := os.ReadFile(filePath)

The filepath comes from the io.cadvisor.metric.* container label. With a label value of ../../../../etc/shadow, path.Join resolves to /etc/shadow on the host.

Proof:

path.Join("/", "/proc", "1234", "/root", "../../../../etc/shadow")
// → "/etc/shadow"   ← host shadow file, not container's

path.Join("/rootfs", "/proc", "1234", "/root", "../../../../proc/1/environ")
// → "/proc/1/environ"   ← host init process environment (may contain secrets)

Attack Scenario

1. Attacker deploys container with label: io.cadvisor.metric.steal=../../../../etc/shadow
2. cAdvisor calls ReadFile("../../../../etc/shadow", inHostNamespace) for that container
3. path.Join resolves to host /etc/shadow — file is read by cAdvisor (running as root in a DaemonSet)
4. Contents leak into cAdvisor logs or error messages

Suggested Fix

After path.Join, validate that filePath still starts with the expected prefix (rootfs + "/proc/" + pid + "/root/"). Reject any path that escapes the container's root namespace.

[Nick-Bug-Bounty-Hunter]

Thanks for reporting this. If maintainers are open to a PR, I can prepare a focused patch that keeps the resolved path confined under the expected /proc/<pid>/root/ prefix and adds traversal regression tests for label-driven paths. Is that the right direction before I start writing it up?

[github-actions]

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