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.
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Vendor 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. The patches released are using the following mitigation: `systemd.image_policy=root=open`. 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
Tracking
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Thu, 12 Nov 2026 17:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | 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. | |
| Title | Sandboxed-containers: kernel: systemd-gpt-auto-generator: guest data leakage in confidential computing (sandboxed containers) | |
| First Time appeared |
Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux Redhat openshift Redhat rhel Els |
|
| Weaknesses | CWE-359 | |
| CPEs | cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:10 cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:8 cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9 cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4 cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:5 cpe:/o:redhat:rhel_els:6 cpe:/o:redhat:rhel_els:7 |
|
| Vendors & Products |
Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux Redhat openshift Redhat rhel Els |
|
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
cvssV3_1
|
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: redhat
Published:
Updated: 2026-11-12T18:49:52.690Z
Reserved: 2026-11-04T10:34:49.034Z
Link: CVE-2026-121876
No data.
Status : Awaiting Analysis
Published: 2026-11-12T17:17:29.040
Modified: 2026-11-12T17:17:29.170
Link: CVE-2026-121876
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
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CWE-359
Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor