diff --git a/cmd/containerd-shim/main_unix.go b/cmd/containerd-shim/main_unix.go
index 18e9a47d4..45e5c205f 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd-shim/main_unix.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd-shim/main_unix.go
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ func parseFlags() {
 	flag.StringVar(&addressFlag, "address", "", "grpc address back to main containerd")
 	flag.StringVar(&workdirFlag, "workdir", "", "path used to storage large temporary data")
 	flag.StringVar(&runtimeRootFlag, "runtime-root", process.RuncRoot, "root directory for the runtime")
-	flag.StringVar(&criuFlag, "criu", "", "path to criu binary")
+	flag.StringVar(&criuFlag, "criu", "", "path to criu binary (deprecated: do not use)")
 	flag.BoolVar(&systemdCgroupFlag, "systemd-cgroup", false, "set runtime to use systemd-cgroup")
 	// currently, the `containerd publish` utility is embedded in the daemon binary.
 	// The daemon invokes `containerd-shim -containerd-binary ...` with its own os.Executable() path.
@@ -176,7 +176,6 @@ func executeShim() error {
 			Path:          path,
 			Namespace:     namespaceFlag,
 			WorkDir:       workdirFlag,
-			Criu:          criuFlag,
 			SystemdCgroup: systemdCgroupFlag,
 			RuntimeRoot:   runtimeRootFlag,
 		},
diff --git a/pkg/process/init.go b/pkg/process/init.go
index 26aebdcb5..75eb0d187 100644
--- a/pkg/process/init.go
+++ b/pkg/process/init.go
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ type Init struct {
 }
 
 // NewRunc returns a new runc instance for a process
-func NewRunc(root, path, namespace, runtime, criu string, systemd bool) *runc.Runc {
+func NewRunc(root, path, namespace, runtime string, systemd bool) *runc.Runc {
 	if root == "" {
 		root = RuncRoot
 	}
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ func NewRunc(root, path, namespace, runtime, criu string, systemd bool) *runc.Ru
 		LogFormat:     runc.JSON,
 		PdeathSignal:  unix.SIGKILL,
 		Root:          filepath.Join(root, namespace),
-		Criu:          criu,
 		SystemdCgroup: systemd,
 	}
 }
diff --git a/runtime/linux/runctypes/next.pb.txt b/runtime/linux/runctypes/next.pb.txt
index 863c49ff1..724df8ec3 100755
--- a/runtime/linux/runctypes/next.pb.txt
+++ b/runtime/linux/runctypes/next.pb.txt
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ file {
       number: 3
       label: LABEL_OPTIONAL
       type: TYPE_STRING
+      options {
+        deprecated: true
+      }
       json_name: "criuPath"
     }
     field {
diff --git a/runtime/linux/runctypes/runc.pb.go b/runtime/linux/runctypes/runc.pb.go
index cb8274cc5..ce30e6e2a 100644
--- a/runtime/linux/runctypes/runc.pb.go
+++ b/runtime/linux/runctypes/runc.pb.go
@@ -26,9 +26,15 @@ var _ = math.Inf
 const _ = proto.GoGoProtoPackageIsVersion3 // please upgrade the proto package
 
 type RuncOptions struct {
-	Runtime              string   `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=runtime,proto3" json:"runtime,omitempty"`
-	RuntimeRoot          string   `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=runtime_root,json=runtimeRoot,proto3" json:"runtime_root,omitempty"`
-	CriuPath             string   `protobuf:"bytes,3,opt,name=criu_path,json=criuPath,proto3" json:"criu_path,omitempty"`
+	Runtime     string `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=runtime,proto3" json:"runtime,omitempty"`
+	RuntimeRoot string `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=runtime_root,json=runtimeRoot,proto3" json:"runtime_root,omitempty"`
+	// criu binary path.
+	//
+	// Deprecated: runc option --criu is now ignored (with a warning), and the
+	// option will be removed entirely in a future release. Users who need a non-
+	// standard criu binary should rely on the standard way of looking up binaries
+	// in $PATH.
+	CriuPath             string   `protobuf:"bytes,3,opt,name=criu_path,json=criuPath,proto3" json:"criu_path,omitempty"` // Deprecated: Do not use.
 	SystemdCgroup        bool     `protobuf:"varint,4,opt,name=systemd_cgroup,json=systemdCgroup,proto3" json:"systemd_cgroup,omitempty"`
 	XXX_NoUnkeyedLiteral struct{} `json:"-"`
 	XXX_unrecognized     []byte   `json:"-"`
@@ -216,45 +222,45 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 var fileDescriptor_d20e2ba8b3cc58b9 = []byte{
-	// 605 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
-	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0xdc, 0x94, 0xcf, 0x6e, 0xd3, 0x4a,
-	0x14, 0xc6, 0xeb, 0xfe, 0x49, 0x9c, 0x93, 0xa4, 0xbd, 0x77, 0xee, 0xad, 0xe4, 0xdb, 0xaa, 0x69,
-	0x6e, 0xf8, 0xa3, 0xb0, 0x49, 0x25, 0x10, 0x2b, 0x76, 0x4d, 0x11, 0xaa, 0x80, 0x52, 0x19, 0x2a,
-	0x24, 0x84, 0x34, 0x72, 0xc7, 0x87, 0x64, 0x94, 0x78, 0x8e, 0xe5, 0x19, 0x93, 0x64, 0xc7, 0x13,
-	0xf0, 0x42, 0xbc, 0x40, 0x57, 0x88, 0x25, 0x2b, 0x44, 0xf3, 0x24, 0x68, 0xc6, 0x76, 0xda, 0x35,
-	0x4b, 0x76, 0xe7, 0xfc, 0xce, 0x67, 0x9f, 0xa3, 0xef, 0x93, 0x0d, 0xc3, 0x91, 0x34, 0xe3, 0xfc,
-	0x72, 0x20, 0x28, 0x39, 0x12, 0xa4, 0x4c, 0x24, 0x15, 0x66, 0xf1, 0xed, 0x32, 0xcb, 0x95, 0x91,
-	0x09, 0x1e, 0x4d, 0xa5, 0xca, 0xe7, 0xb6, 0x13, 0x66, 0x91, 0xa2, 0x76, 0xd5, 0x20, 0xcd, 0xc8,
-	0x10, 0xdb, 0xbd, 0x91, 0x0f, 0x9c, 0x6c, 0x60, 0x87, 0x7b, 0xff, 0x8e, 0x68, 0x44, 0x4e, 0x71,
-	0x64, 0xab, 0x42, 0xdc, 0xfb, 0xec, 0x41, 0x33, 0xcc, 0x95, 0x78, 0x95, 0x1a, 0x49, 0x4a, 0xb3,
-	0x00, 0xea, 0xe5, 0x8a, 0xc0, 0xeb, 0x7a, 0xfd, 0x46, 0x58, 0xb5, 0xec, 0x7f, 0x68, 0x95, 0x25,
-	0xcf, 0x88, 0x4c, 0xb0, 0xee, 0xc6, 0xcd, 0x92, 0x85, 0x44, 0x86, 0xed, 0x43, 0x43, 0x64, 0x32,
-	0xe7, 0x69, 0x64, 0xc6, 0xc1, 0x86, 0x9b, 0xfb, 0x16, 0x9c, 0x47, 0x66, 0xcc, 0xee, 0xc1, 0xb6,
-	0x5e, 0x68, 0x83, 0x49, 0xcc, 0xc5, 0x28, 0xa3, 0x3c, 0x0d, 0x36, 0xbb, 0x5e, 0xdf, 0x0f, 0xdb,
-	0x25, 0x1d, 0x3a, 0xd8, 0xfb, 0xba, 0x01, 0xed, 0x61, 0x86, 0x91, 0xc1, 0xea, 0xa4, 0x1e, 0xb4,
-	0x15, 0xf1, 0x54, 0x7e, 0x24, 0x53, 0x6c, 0xf6, 0xdc, 0x73, 0x4d, 0x45, 0xe7, 0x96, 0xb9, 0xcd,
-	0xff, 0x81, 0x4f, 0x29, 0x2a, 0x6e, 0x44, 0xea, 0x0e, 0xf3, 0xc3, 0xba, 0xed, 0xdf, 0x88, 0x94,
-	0x3d, 0x84, 0x5d, 0x9c, 0x1b, 0xcc, 0x54, 0x34, 0xe5, 0xb9, 0x92, 0x73, 0xae, 0x49, 0x4c, 0xd0,
-	0x68, 0x77, 0xa0, 0x1f, 0xfe, 0x53, 0x0d, 0x2f, 0x94, 0x9c, 0xbf, 0x2e, 0x46, 0x6c, 0x0f, 0x7c,
-	0x83, 0x59, 0x22, 0x55, 0x34, 0x2d, 0xaf, 0x5c, 0xf5, 0xec, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x83, 0x9c, 0x22, 0x9f,
-	0x92, 0x98, 0xe8, 0x60, 0xcb, 0x4d, 0x1b, 0x96, 0xbc, 0xb0, 0x80, 0x3d, 0x80, 0xbf, 0x30, 0x49,
-	0xcd, 0x82, 0xab, 0x28, 0x41, 0x9d, 0x46, 0x02, 0x75, 0x50, 0xeb, 0x6e, 0xf4, 0x1b, 0xe1, 0x8e,
-	0xe3, 0x67, 0x2b, 0x6c, 0x1d, 0x2d, 0x9c, 0xd0, 0x3c, 0xa1, 0x18, 0x83, 0x7a, 0xe1, 0x68, 0xc9,
-	0x5e, 0x52, 0x8c, 0xec, 0x2e, 0x6c, 0x2b, 0xe2, 0x0a, 0x67, 0x7c, 0x82, 0x8b, 0x4c, 0xaa, 0x51,
-	0xe0, 0xbb, 0x85, 0x2d, 0x45, 0x67, 0x38, 0x7b, 0x5e, 0x30, 0x76, 0x08, 0x4d, 0x3d, 0x96, 0x49,
-	0xe5, 0x6b, 0xc3, 0xbd, 0x07, 0x2c, 0x2a, 0x4c, 0x65, 0xbb, 0x50, 0x93, 0xc4, 0x73, 0x19, 0x07,
-	0xd0, 0xf5, 0xfa, 0xed, 0x70, 0x4b, 0xd2, 0x85, 0x8c, 0x4b, 0x3c, 0x92, 0x71, 0xd0, 0xac, 0xf0,
-	0x33, 0x19, 0xdb, 0xa5, 0x2e, 0xc6, 0x19, 0x65, 0x93, 0x22, 0xcb, 0x96, 0x7b, 0x63, 0xcb, 0xd2,
-	0xb7, 0x94, 0x4d, 0x5c, 0x9e, 0xf7, 0x61, 0xc7, 0xa9, 0x64, 0x12, 0x8d, 0xb0, 0x90, 0xb5, 0x9d,
-	0xac, 0x6d, 0xf1, 0xa9, 0xa5, 0x56, 0xd7, 0xfb, 0xb2, 0x0e, 0x7f, 0x0f, 0xc7, 0x28, 0x26, 0x29,
-	0x49, 0x65, 0xaa, 0x50, 0x19, 0x6c, 0xe2, 0x5c, 0x56, 0x59, 0xba, 0xfa, 0x8f, 0x0d, 0x71, 0x1f,
-	0x1a, 0x37, 0x56, 0xfa, 0xc5, 0x67, 0x31, 0xab, 0x6c, 0x3c, 0x00, 0xb8, 0xe5, 0x60, 0x11, 0x5d,
-	0x43, 0xae, 0xdc, 0x7b, 0x0c, 0xdb, 0xe7, 0x19, 0x09, 0xd4, 0xfa, 0x04, 0x4d, 0x24, 0xa7, 0x9a,
-	0xdd, 0x81, 0x3a, 0xce, 0x51, 0x70, 0x19, 0x17, 0x5f, 0xe8, 0x31, 0x2c, 0x7f, 0x1c, 0xd6, 0x9e,
-	0xce, 0x51, 0x9c, 0x9e, 0x84, 0x35, 0x3b, 0x3a, 0x8d, 0x8f, 0xdf, 0x5f, 0x5d, 0x77, 0xd6, 0xbe,
-	0x5f, 0x77, 0xd6, 0x3e, 0x2d, 0x3b, 0xde, 0xd5, 0xb2, 0xe3, 0x7d, 0x5b, 0x76, 0xbc, 0x9f, 0xcb,
-	0x8e, 0xf7, 0xee, 0xf8, 0x77, 0x7f, 0x31, 0x4f, 0x56, 0xd5, 0x65, 0xcd, 0xfd, 0x3b, 0x1e, 0xfd,
-	0x0a, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0x72, 0x8a, 0x0a, 0x26, 0xaf, 0x04, 0x00, 0x00,
+	// 606 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0xdc, 0x94, 0xcf, 0x6e, 0xd3, 0x40,
+	0x10, 0xc6, 0xeb, 0xfe, 0x49, 0x9c, 0x49, 0xd2, 0xc2, 0x42, 0x25, 0x53, 0xd4, 0x34, 0x84, 0x3f,
+	0x0a, 0x97, 0x54, 0x02, 0x71, 0xe2, 0x96, 0x14, 0xa1, 0x0a, 0x28, 0x95, 0xa1, 0x42, 0x42, 0x48,
+	0x2b, 0x77, 0x3d, 0x24, 0xab, 0xc4, 0x3b, 0x96, 0x77, 0x4d, 0x92, 0x1b, 0xcf, 0xc0, 0xeb, 0xf0,
+	0x02, 0x3d, 0x21, 0x8e, 0x9c, 0x10, 0xcd, 0x93, 0xa0, 0x5d, 0xc7, 0x69, 0xcf, 0x1c, 0xb9, 0xcd,
+	0xfc, 0xbe, 0x2f, 0x9e, 0xd1, 0x37, 0xca, 0xc2, 0x60, 0x28, 0xcd, 0x28, 0x3f, 0xef, 0x09, 0x4a,
+	0x0e, 0x05, 0x29, 0x13, 0x49, 0x85, 0x59, 0x7c, 0xbd, 0xcc, 0x72, 0x65, 0x64, 0x82, 0x87, 0x13,
+	0xa9, 0xf2, 0x99, 0xed, 0x84, 0x99, 0xa7, 0xa8, 0x5d, 0xd5, 0x4b, 0x33, 0x32, 0xc4, 0x76, 0xaf,
+	0xec, 0x3d, 0x67, 0xeb, 0x59, 0x71, 0xef, 0xf6, 0x90, 0x86, 0xe4, 0x1c, 0x87, 0xb6, 0x2a, 0xcc,
+	0x9d, 0x6f, 0x1e, 0xd4, 0xc3, 0x5c, 0x89, 0xb7, 0xa9, 0x91, 0xa4, 0x34, 0x0b, 0xa0, 0xba, 0x1c,
+	0x11, 0x78, 0x6d, 0xaf, 0x5b, 0x0b, 0xcb, 0x96, 0xdd, 0x83, 0xc6, 0xb2, 0xe4, 0x19, 0x91, 0x09,
+	0xd6, 0x9d, 0x5c, 0x5f, 0xb2, 0x90, 0xc8, 0xb0, 0x03, 0xa8, 0x89, 0x4c, 0xe6, 0x3c, 0x8d, 0xcc,
+	0x28, 0xd8, 0xb0, 0x7a, 0x7f, 0x3d, 0xf0, 0x42, 0xdf, 0xc2, 0xd3, 0xc8, 0x8c, 0xd8, 0x43, 0xd8,
+	0xd6, 0x73, 0x6d, 0x30, 0x89, 0xb9, 0x18, 0x66, 0x94, 0xa7, 0xc1, 0x66, 0xdb, 0xeb, 0xfa, 0x61,
+	0x73, 0x49, 0x07, 0x0e, 0x76, 0x7e, 0x6c, 0x40, 0x73, 0x90, 0x61, 0x64, 0xb0, 0x5c, 0xab, 0x03,
+	0x4d, 0x45, 0x3c, 0x95, 0x5f, 0xc8, 0x14, 0xd3, 0x3d, 0xf7, 0xbb, 0xba, 0xa2, 0x53, 0xcb, 0xdc,
+	0xf4, 0x3b, 0xe0, 0x53, 0x8a, 0x8a, 0x1b, 0x91, 0xba, 0xe5, 0xfc, 0xb0, 0x6a, 0xfb, 0xf7, 0x22,
+	0x65, 0x4f, 0x60, 0x17, 0x67, 0x06, 0x33, 0x15, 0x4d, 0x78, 0xae, 0xe4, 0x8c, 0x6b, 0x12, 0x63,
+	0x34, 0xda, 0x2d, 0xe9, 0x87, 0xb7, 0x4a, 0xf1, 0x4c, 0xc9, 0xd9, 0xbb, 0x42, 0x62, 0x7b, 0xe0,
+	0x1b, 0xcc, 0x12, 0xa9, 0xa2, 0xc9, 0x72, 0xcb, 0x55, 0xcf, 0xf6, 0x01, 0x3e, 0xcb, 0x09, 0xf2,
+	0x09, 0x89, 0xb1, 0x0e, 0xb6, 0x9c, 0x5a, 0xb3, 0xe4, 0xb5, 0x05, 0xec, 0x31, 0xdc, 0xc0, 0x24,
+	0x35, 0x73, 0xae, 0xa2, 0x04, 0x75, 0x1a, 0x09, 0xd4, 0x41, 0xa5, 0xbd, 0xd1, 0xad, 0x85, 0x3b,
+	0x8e, 0x9f, 0xac, 0xb0, 0x4d, 0xb5, 0x48, 0x42, 0xf3, 0x84, 0x62, 0x0c, 0xaa, 0x45, 0xaa, 0x4b,
+	0xf6, 0x86, 0x62, 0x64, 0x0f, 0x60, 0x5b, 0x11, 0x57, 0x38, 0xe5, 0x63, 0x9c, 0x67, 0x52, 0x0d,
+	0x03, 0xdf, 0x0d, 0x6c, 0x28, 0x3a, 0xc1, 0xe9, 0xab, 0x82, 0xb1, 0x03, 0xa8, 0xeb, 0x91, 0x4c,
+	0xca, 0x5c, 0x6b, 0xee, 0x3b, 0x60, 0x51, 0x11, 0x2a, 0xdb, 0x85, 0x8a, 0x24, 0x9e, 0xcb, 0x38,
+	0x80, 0xb6, 0xd7, 0x6d, 0x86, 0x5b, 0x92, 0xce, 0x64, 0xbc, 0xc4, 0x43, 0x19, 0x07, 0xf5, 0x12,
+	0xbf, 0x94, 0xb1, 0x1d, 0xea, 0x4e, 0x39, 0xa5, 0x6c, 0x5c, 0xdc, 0xb3, 0xe1, 0xbe, 0xd8, 0xb0,
+	0xf4, 0x03, 0x65, 0x63, 0x77, 0xcf, 0x47, 0xb0, 0xe3, 0x5c, 0x32, 0x89, 0x86, 0x58, 0xd8, 0x9a,
+	0xce, 0xd6, 0xb4, 0xf8, 0xd8, 0x52, 0xeb, 0xeb, 0x7c, 0x5f, 0x87, 0x9b, 0x83, 0x11, 0x8a, 0x71,
+	0x4a, 0x52, 0x99, 0xf2, 0xa8, 0x0c, 0x36, 0x71, 0x26, 0xcb, 0x5b, 0xba, 0xfa, 0xbf, 0x3d, 0xe2,
+	0x5d, 0xa8, 0x5d, 0x45, 0xe9, 0x3b, 0xdd, 0x9f, 0x96, 0x31, 0xee, 0x03, 0x5c, 0x4b, 0xb0, 0x38,
+	0x5d, 0x4d, 0xae, 0xd2, 0x7b, 0x06, 0xdb, 0xa7, 0x19, 0x09, 0xd4, 0xfa, 0x08, 0x4d, 0x24, 0x27,
+	0x9a, 0xdd, 0x87, 0x2a, 0xce, 0x50, 0x70, 0x19, 0x17, 0xff, 0xd2, 0x3e, 0x2c, 0x7e, 0x1f, 0x54,
+	0x5e, 0xcc, 0x50, 0x1c, 0x1f, 0x85, 0x15, 0x2b, 0x1d, 0xc7, 0xfd, 0x4f, 0x17, 0x97, 0xad, 0xb5,
+	0x5f, 0x97, 0xad, 0xb5, 0xaf, 0x8b, 0x96, 0x77, 0xb1, 0x68, 0x79, 0x3f, 0x17, 0x2d, 0xef, 0xcf,
+	0xa2, 0xe5, 0x7d, 0xec, 0xff, 0xeb, 0x33, 0xf3, 0x7c, 0x55, 0x9d, 0x57, 0xdc, 0xfb, 0xf1, 0xf4,
+	0x6f, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xe4, 0xbd, 0xd4, 0x57, 0xb3, 0x04, 0x00, 0x00,
 }
 
 func (m *RuncOptions) Marshal() (dAtA []byte, err error) {
diff --git a/runtime/linux/runctypes/runc.proto b/runtime/linux/runctypes/runc.proto
index f5bd7ef70..9a0f2732d 100644
--- a/runtime/linux/runctypes/runc.proto
+++ b/runtime/linux/runctypes/runc.proto
@@ -9,7 +9,13 @@ option go_package = "github.com/containerd/containerd/runtime/linux/runctypes;ru
 message RuncOptions {
 	string runtime = 1;
 	string runtime_root = 2;
-	string criu_path = 3;
+	// criu binary path.
+	//
+	// Deprecated: runc option --criu is now ignored (with a warning), and the
+	// option will be removed entirely in a future release. Users who need a non-
+	// standard criu binary should rely on the standard way of looking up binaries
+	// in $PATH.
+	string criu_path = 3 [deprecated = true];
 	bool systemd_cgroup = 4;
 }
 
diff --git a/runtime/v1/linux/bundle.go b/runtime/v1/linux/bundle.go
index b1830d004..d25957b83 100644
--- a/runtime/v1/linux/bundle.go
+++ b/runtime/v1/linux/bundle.go
@@ -217,12 +217,10 @@ func (b *bundle) decideShimAddress(namespace string) string {
 
 func (b *bundle) shimConfig(namespace string, c *Config, runcOptions *runctypes.RuncOptions) shim.Config {
 	var (
-		criuPath      string
 		runtimeRoot   = c.RuntimeRoot
 		systemdCgroup bool
 	)
 	if runcOptions != nil {
-		criuPath = runcOptions.CriuPath
 		systemdCgroup = runcOptions.SystemdCgroup
 		if runcOptions.RuntimeRoot != "" {
 			runtimeRoot = runcOptions.RuntimeRoot
@@ -232,7 +230,6 @@ func (b *bundle) shimConfig(namespace string, c *Config, runcOptions *runctypes.
 		Path:          b.path,
 		WorkDir:       b.workDir,
 		Namespace:     namespace,
-		Criu:          criuPath,
 		RuntimeRoot:   runtimeRoot,
 		SystemdCgroup: systemdCgroup,
 	}
diff --git a/runtime/v1/shim/client/client.go b/runtime/v1/shim/client/client.go
index 6e5eae522..83b6717c8 100644
--- a/runtime/v1/shim/client/client.go
+++ b/runtime/v1/shim/client/client.go
@@ -197,9 +197,6 @@ func newCommand(binary, daemonAddress string, debug bool, config shim.Config, so
 		"-containerd-binary", selfExe,
 	}
 
-	if config.Criu != "" {
-		args = append(args, "-criu-path", config.Criu)
-	}
 	if config.RuntimeRoot != "" {
 		args = append(args, "-runtime-root", config.RuntimeRoot)
 	}
diff --git a/runtime/v1/shim/service.go b/runtime/v1/shim/service.go
index d54d23caf..8e8fab9eb 100644
--- a/runtime/v1/shim/service.go
+++ b/runtime/v1/shim/service.go
@@ -62,9 +62,15 @@ var (
 
 // Config contains shim specific configuration
 type Config struct {
-	Path          string
-	Namespace     string
-	WorkDir       string
+	Path      string
+	Namespace string
+	WorkDir   string
+	// Criu is the path to the criu binary used for checkpoint and restore.
+	//
+	// Deprecated: runc option --criu is now ignored (with a warning), and the
+	// option will be removed entirely in a future release. Users who need a non-
+	// standard criu binary should rely on the standard way of looking up binaries
+	// in $PATH.
 	Criu          string
 	RuntimeRoot   string
 	SystemdCgroup bool
@@ -172,7 +178,6 @@ func (s *Service) Create(ctx context.Context, r *shimapi.CreateTaskRequest) (_ *
 		s.config.WorkDir,
 		s.config.RuntimeRoot,
 		s.config.Namespace,
-		s.config.Criu,
 		s.config.SystemdCgroup,
 		s.platform,
 		config,
@@ -637,7 +642,7 @@ func getTopic(ctx context.Context, e interface{}) string {
 	return runtime.TaskUnknownTopic
 }
 
-func newInit(ctx context.Context, path, workDir, runtimeRoot, namespace, criu string, systemdCgroup bool, platform stdio.Platform, r *process.CreateConfig, rootfs string) (*process.Init, error) {
+func newInit(ctx context.Context, path, workDir, runtimeRoot, namespace string, systemdCgroup bool, platform stdio.Platform, r *process.CreateConfig, rootfs string) (*process.Init, error) {
 	var options runctypes.CreateOptions
 	if r.Options != nil {
 		v, err := typeurl.UnmarshalAny(r.Options)
@@ -647,7 +652,7 @@ func newInit(ctx context.Context, path, workDir, runtimeRoot, namespace, criu st
 		options = *v.(*runctypes.CreateOptions)
 	}
 
-	runtime := process.NewRunc(runtimeRoot, path, namespace, r.Runtime, criu, systemdCgroup)
+	runtime := process.NewRunc(runtimeRoot, path, namespace, r.Runtime, systemdCgroup)
 	p := process.New(r.ID, runtime, stdio.Stdio{
 		Stdin:    r.Stdin,
 		Stdout:   r.Stdout,
diff --git a/runtime/v2/runc/container.go b/runtime/v2/runc/container.go
index 4da91d691..dc32efec7 100644
--- a/runtime/v2/runc/container.go
+++ b/runtime/v2/runc/container.go
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ func WriteRuntime(path, runtime string) error {
 
 func newInit(ctx context.Context, path, workDir, namespace string, platform stdio.Platform,
 	r *process.CreateConfig, options *options.Options, rootfs string) (*process.Init, error) {
-	runtime := process.NewRunc(options.Root, path, namespace, options.BinaryName, options.CriuPath, options.SystemdCgroup)
+	runtime := process.NewRunc(options.Root, path, namespace, options.BinaryName, options.SystemdCgroup)
 	p := process.New(r.ID, runtime, stdio.Stdio{
 		Stdin:    r.Stdin,
 		Stdout:   r.Stdout,
diff --git a/runtime/v2/runc/manager/manager_linux.go b/runtime/v2/runc/manager/manager_linux.go
index e0823c8cb..846fbe716 100644
--- a/runtime/v2/runc/manager/manager_linux.go
+++ b/runtime/v2/runc/manager/manager_linux.go
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ func (manager) Stop(ctx context.Context, id string) (shim.StopStatus, error) {
 		root = opts.Root
 	}
 
-	r := process.NewRunc(root, path, ns, runtime, "", false)
+	r := process.NewRunc(root, path, ns, runtime, false)
 	if err := r.Delete(ctx, id, &runcC.DeleteOpts{
 		Force: true,
 	}); err != nil {
diff --git a/runtime/v2/runc/options/next.pb.txt b/runtime/v2/runc/options/next.pb.txt
index 7c0f40316..5fd5173b2 100755
--- a/runtime/v2/runc/options/next.pb.txt
+++ b/runtime/v2/runc/options/next.pb.txt
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ file {
       number: 8
       label: LABEL_OPTIONAL
       type: TYPE_STRING
+      options {
+        deprecated: true
+      }
       json_name: "criuPath"
     }
     field {
diff --git a/runtime/v2/runc/options/oci.pb.go b/runtime/v2/runc/options/oci.pb.go
index 85bc131e3..68f5d7e99 100644
--- a/runtime/v2/runc/options/oci.pb.go
+++ b/runtime/v2/runc/options/oci.pb.go
@@ -40,8 +40,13 @@ type Options struct {
 	BinaryName string `protobuf:"bytes,6,opt,name=binary_name,json=binaryName,proto3" json:"binary_name,omitempty"`
 	// runc root directory
 	Root string `protobuf:"bytes,7,opt,name=root,proto3" json:"root,omitempty"`
-	// criu binary path
-	CriuPath string `protobuf:"bytes,8,opt,name=criu_path,json=criuPath,proto3" json:"criu_path,omitempty"`
+	// criu binary path.
+	//
+	// Deprecated: runc option --criu is now ignored (with a warning), and the
+	// option will be removed entirely in a future release. Users who need a non-
+	// standard criu binary should rely on the standard way of looking up binaries
+	// in $PATH.
+	CriuPath string `protobuf:"bytes,8,opt,name=criu_path,json=criuPath,proto3" json:"criu_path,omitempty"` // Deprecated: Do not use.
 	// enable systemd cgroups
 	SystemdCgroup bool `protobuf:"varint,9,opt,name=systemd_cgroup,json=systemdCgroup,proto3" json:"systemd_cgroup,omitempty"`
 	// criu image path
@@ -192,44 +197,44 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 var fileDescriptor_4e5440d739e9a863 = []byte{
-	// 586 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
-	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x9c, 0x93, 0x4f, 0x6f, 0xd3, 0x4c,
-	0x10, 0x87, 0xeb, 0xfe, 0x49, 0xec, 0x4d, 0x93, 0xbe, 0xef, 0x42, 0x25, 0xd3, 0x8a, 0x34, 0x94,
-	0x82, 0xc2, 0x25, 0x11, 0x45, 0x9c, 0xb8, 0xa0, 0xb6, 0x08, 0x55, 0x40, 0xa9, 0x0c, 0x15, 0x52,
-	0x2f, 0x2b, 0x77, 0x3d, 0x38, 0xa3, 0xc4, 0x3b, 0x96, 0x77, 0xd3, 0xa4, 0x37, 0xbe, 0x17, 0x5f,
-	0xa0, 0x47, 0x8e, 0x9c, 0x10, 0xcd, 0x8d, 0x6f, 0x81, 0x76, 0xed, 0xa4, 0x3d, 0x73, 0xf2, 0xec,
-	0x33, 0x3f, 0x8f, 0xd7, 0xcf, 0x6a, 0xd9, 0x41, 0x8a, 0x66, 0x30, 0xbe, 0xe8, 0x49, 0xca, 0xfa,
-	0x92, 0x94, 0x89, 0x51, 0x41, 0x91, 0xdc, 0x2d, 0x8b, 0xb1, 0x32, 0x98, 0x41, 0xff, 0x72, 0xdf,
-	0x96, 0xb2, 0x4f, 0xb9, 0x41, 0x52, 0xba, 0x4f, 0x12, 0x7b, 0x79, 0x41, 0x86, 0x38, 0xbf, 0x4d,
-	0xf7, 0x6c, 0xa4, 0x77, 0xf9, 0x7c, 0xeb, 0x7e, 0x4a, 0x29, 0xb9, 0x76, 0xdf, 0x56, 0x65, 0x72,
-	0xf7, 0xcf, 0x32, 0xab, 0x7f, 0x2c, 0xdf, 0xe7, 0xbb, 0xac, 0xa9, 0x48, 0xe4, 0x78, 0x49, 0x46,
-	0x14, 0x44, 0x26, 0xf4, 0x3a, 0x5e, 0xd7, 0x8f, 0x1a, 0x8a, 0x4e, 0x2d, 0x8b, 0x88, 0x0c, 0xdf,
-	0x63, 0x2d, 0x45, 0x42, 0xc1, 0x44, 0x0c, 0xe1, 0xaa, 0x40, 0x95, 0x86, 0xcb, 0x2e, 0xb4, 0xae,
-	0xe8, 0x04, 0x26, 0xef, 0x4a, 0xc6, 0x77, 0x58, 0x43, 0x0f, 0x30, 0x13, 0x32, 0x2d, 0x68, 0x9c,
-	0x87, 0x2b, 0x1d, 0xaf, 0x1b, 0x44, 0xcc, 0xa2, 0x43, 0x47, 0xf8, 0x26, 0xab, 0x21, 0x89, 0x31,
-	0x26, 0xe1, 0x6a, 0xc7, 0xeb, 0x36, 0xa3, 0x35, 0xa4, 0x33, 0x4c, 0x2a, 0x9c, 0x62, 0x12, 0xae,
-	0xcd, 0xf1, 0x5b, 0x4c, 0xec, 0xb8, 0x0b, 0x54, 0x71, 0x71, 0x25, 0x54, 0x9c, 0x41, 0x58, 0x2b,
-	0xc7, 0x95, 0xe8, 0x24, 0xce, 0x80, 0x73, 0xb6, 0xea, 0x36, 0x5c, 0x77, 0x1d, 0x57, 0xf3, 0x6d,
-	0x16, 0xc8, 0x02, 0xc7, 0x22, 0x8f, 0xcd, 0x20, 0xf4, 0x5d, 0xc3, 0xb7, 0xe0, 0x34, 0x36, 0x03,
-	0xfe, 0x84, 0xb5, 0xf4, 0x95, 0x36, 0x90, 0x25, 0xf3, 0x3d, 0x06, 0xee, 0x37, 0x9a, 0x15, 0xad,
-	0xb6, 0xf9, 0x94, 0x6d, 0xb8, 0x19, 0x98, 0xc5, 0x29, 0x94, 0x93, 0x98, 0x9b, 0xd4, 0xb4, 0xf8,
-	0xd8, 0x52, 0x37, 0x6e, 0x8f, 0xb5, 0x5c, 0x6e, 0x42, 0xc5, 0xb0, 0x8c, 0x35, 0x5c, 0x6c, 0xdd,
-	0xd2, 0x2f, 0x54, 0x0c, 0x6d, 0x6a, 0xf7, 0xfb, 0x32, 0xfb, 0xff, 0x70, 0x00, 0x72, 0x98, 0x13,
-	0x2a, 0x33, 0xb7, 0xce, 0xd9, 0x2a, 0x4c, 0x71, 0x2e, 0xdb, 0xd5, 0xfc, 0x01, 0xf3, 0x29, 0x07,
-	0x25, 0x8c, 0xcc, 0x2b, 0xbf, 0x75, 0xbb, 0xfe, 0x2c, 0x73, 0xbe, 0xcf, 0x36, 0x61, 0x6a, 0xa0,
-	0x50, 0xf1, 0x48, 0x8c, 0x15, 0x4e, 0x85, 0x26, 0x39, 0x04, 0xa3, 0x9d, 0x64, 0x3f, 0xba, 0x37,
-	0x6f, 0x9e, 0x29, 0x9c, 0x7e, 0x2a, 0x5b, 0x7c, 0x8b, 0xf9, 0x06, 0x8a, 0x0c, 0x55, 0x3c, 0x72,
-	0xbe, 0xfd, 0x68, 0xb1, 0xe6, 0x0f, 0x19, 0xfb, 0x8a, 0x23, 0x10, 0x23, 0x92, 0x43, 0xed, 0xb4,
-	0xfb, 0x51, 0x60, 0xc9, 0x7b, 0x0b, 0xf8, 0x33, 0xf6, 0x1f, 0x64, 0xb9, 0x29, 0xcd, 0xeb, 0x3c,
-	0x96, 0xa0, 0xc3, 0x5a, 0x67, 0xa5, 0x1b, 0x44, 0x1b, 0x8e, 0x9f, 0x2c, 0x30, 0x7f, 0xc4, 0xd6,
-	0x4b, 0x97, 0x5a, 0x64, 0x94, 0x40, 0x75, 0x18, 0x8d, 0x8a, 0x7d, 0xa0, 0x04, 0xec, 0xc7, 0xee,
-	0xa8, 0x2c, 0x0f, 0x25, 0xc0, 0x85, 0xc6, 0x6d, 0x16, 0xdc, 0x1a, 0x0c, 0xca, 0x23, 0x9b, 0xcc,
-	0xed, 0xbd, 0x64, 0xad, 0xd3, 0x82, 0x24, 0x68, 0x7d, 0x04, 0x26, 0xc6, 0x91, 0xe6, 0x8f, 0x59,
-	0x1d, 0xa6, 0x20, 0x05, 0x26, 0x4e, 0x5e, 0x70, 0xc0, 0x66, 0xbf, 0x76, 0x6a, 0x6f, 0xa6, 0x20,
-	0x8f, 0x8f, 0xa2, 0x9a, 0x6d, 0x1d, 0x27, 0x07, 0xe7, 0xd7, 0x37, 0xed, 0xa5, 0x9f, 0x37, 0xed,
-	0xa5, 0x6f, 0xb3, 0xb6, 0x77, 0x3d, 0x6b, 0x7b, 0x3f, 0x66, 0x6d, 0xef, 0xf7, 0xac, 0xed, 0x9d,
-	0xbf, 0xfe, 0xd7, 0x8b, 0xf6, 0xaa, 0x7a, 0x5e, 0xd4, 0xdc, 0x1d, 0x7a, 0xf1, 0x37, 0x00, 0x00,
-	0xff, 0xff, 0x0d, 0x09, 0x46, 0xe5, 0xb3, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00,
+	// 592 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x9c, 0x93, 0x41, 0x6f, 0xd3, 0x4a,
+	0x10, 0xc7, 0xeb, 0xb4, 0x4d, 0xec, 0x4d, 0x93, 0xbe, 0xb7, 0xef, 0x55, 0x32, 0x45, 0xa4, 0xa1,
+	0x14, 0x14, 0x2e, 0x89, 0x28, 0xe2, 0xc4, 0x05, 0xa5, 0x45, 0xa8, 0x02, 0x4a, 0x65, 0xa8, 0x90,
+	0x7a, 0x59, 0xb9, 0xeb, 0xc1, 0x19, 0x25, 0xde, 0xb1, 0xbc, 0x9b, 0x26, 0xbd, 0xf1, 0xbd, 0xf8,
+	0x02, 0x3d, 0x72, 0xe4, 0x84, 0x68, 0xee, 0x7c, 0x07, 0xb4, 0x6b, 0xa7, 0xed, 0x99, 0x53, 0x66,
+	0x7f, 0xf3, 0xcf, 0xec, 0xfa, 0xb7, 0x5a, 0x36, 0x4c, 0xd1, 0x8c, 0xa6, 0xe7, 0x7d, 0x49, 0xd9,
+	0x40, 0x92, 0x32, 0x31, 0x2a, 0x28, 0x92, 0xbb, 0x65, 0x31, 0x55, 0x06, 0x33, 0x18, 0x5c, 0xec,
+	0xdb, 0x52, 0x0e, 0x28, 0x37, 0x48, 0x4a, 0x0f, 0x48, 0x62, 0x3f, 0x2f, 0xc8, 0x10, 0xe7, 0xb7,
+	0xe9, 0xbe, 0x8d, 0xf4, 0x2f, 0x9e, 0x6d, 0xff, 0x9f, 0x52, 0x4a, 0xae, 0x3d, 0xb0, 0x55, 0x99,
+	0xdc, 0xfd, 0x5d, 0x63, 0x8d, 0x0f, 0xe5, 0xff, 0xf9, 0x2e, 0x6b, 0x29, 0x12, 0x39, 0x5e, 0x90,
+	0x11, 0x05, 0x91, 0x09, 0xbd, 0xae, 0xd7, 0xf3, 0xa3, 0xa6, 0xa2, 0x13, 0xcb, 0x22, 0x22, 0xc3,
+	0xf7, 0x58, 0x5b, 0x91, 0x50, 0x30, 0x13, 0x63, 0xb8, 0x2c, 0x50, 0xa5, 0x61, 0xcd, 0x85, 0x36,
+	0x14, 0x1d, 0xc3, 0xec, 0x6d, 0xc9, 0xf8, 0x0e, 0x6b, 0xea, 0x11, 0x66, 0x42, 0xa6, 0x05, 0x4d,
+	0xf3, 0x70, 0xb5, 0xeb, 0xf5, 0x82, 0x88, 0x59, 0x74, 0xe0, 0x08, 0xdf, 0x62, 0x75, 0x24, 0x31,
+	0xc5, 0x24, 0x5c, 0xeb, 0x7a, 0xbd, 0x56, 0xb4, 0x8e, 0x74, 0x8a, 0x49, 0x85, 0x53, 0x4c, 0xc2,
+	0xf5, 0x25, 0x7e, 0x83, 0x89, 0x1d, 0x77, 0x8e, 0x2a, 0x2e, 0x2e, 0x85, 0x8a, 0x33, 0x08, 0xeb,
+	0xe5, 0xb8, 0x12, 0x1d, 0xc7, 0x19, 0x70, 0xce, 0xd6, 0xdc, 0x81, 0x1b, 0xae, 0xe3, 0x6a, 0xbe,
+	0xc3, 0x02, 0x59, 0xe0, 0x54, 0xe4, 0xb1, 0x19, 0x85, 0xbe, 0x6d, 0x0c, 0x6b, 0xa1, 0x17, 0xf9,
+	0x16, 0x9e, 0xc4, 0x66, 0xc4, 0x1f, 0xb3, 0xb6, 0xbe, 0xd4, 0x06, 0xb2, 0x64, 0x79, 0xce, 0xc0,
+	0x7d, 0x4a, 0xab, 0xa2, 0xd5, 0x51, 0x9f, 0xb0, 0x4d, 0x37, 0x07, 0xb3, 0x38, 0x85, 0x72, 0x1a,
+	0x73, 0xdb, 0xb4, 0x2c, 0x3e, 0xb2, 0xd4, 0x8d, 0xdb, 0x63, 0x6d, 0x97, 0x9b, 0x51, 0x31, 0x2e,
+	0x63, 0x4d, 0x17, 0xdb, 0xb0, 0xf4, 0x33, 0x15, 0x63, 0x9b, 0xda, 0xfd, 0x56, 0x63, 0xff, 0x1e,
+	0x8c, 0x40, 0x8e, 0x73, 0x42, 0x65, 0x96, 0xe6, 0x39, 0x5b, 0x83, 0x39, 0x2e, 0x85, 0xbb, 0x9a,
+	0xdf, 0x63, 0x3e, 0xe5, 0xa0, 0x84, 0x91, 0x79, 0xe5, 0xb8, 0x61, 0xd7, 0x9f, 0x64, 0xce, 0xf7,
+	0xd9, 0x16, 0xcc, 0x0d, 0x14, 0x2a, 0x9e, 0x88, 0xa9, 0xc2, 0xb9, 0xd0, 0x24, 0xc7, 0x60, 0xb4,
+	0x13, 0xed, 0x47, 0xff, 0x2d, 0x9b, 0xa7, 0x0a, 0xe7, 0x1f, 0xcb, 0x16, 0xdf, 0x66, 0xbe, 0x81,
+	0x22, 0x43, 0x15, 0x4f, 0x9c, 0x73, 0x3f, 0xba, 0x59, 0xf3, 0x07, 0x8c, 0x7d, 0xc1, 0x09, 0x88,
+	0x09, 0xc9, 0xb1, 0x76, 0xea, 0xfd, 0x28, 0xb0, 0xe4, 0x9d, 0x05, 0xfc, 0x29, 0xfb, 0x07, 0xb2,
+	0xdc, 0x94, 0xf6, 0x75, 0x1e, 0x4b, 0xd0, 0x61, 0xbd, 0xbb, 0xda, 0x0b, 0xa2, 0x4d, 0xc7, 0x8f,
+	0x6f, 0x30, 0x7f, 0xc8, 0x36, 0x4a, 0x97, 0x5a, 0x64, 0x94, 0x40, 0x75, 0x21, 0xcd, 0x8a, 0xbd,
+	0xa7, 0x04, 0xec, 0x66, 0x77, 0x54, 0xba, 0x8b, 0x89, 0x02, 0xbc, 0xd1, 0x78, 0x9f, 0x05, 0xb7,
+	0x06, 0x03, 0xd7, 0xf5, 0x67, 0x4b, 0x7b, 0x2f, 0x58, 0xfb, 0xa4, 0x20, 0x09, 0x5a, 0x1f, 0x82,
+	0x89, 0x71, 0xa2, 0xf9, 0x23, 0xd6, 0x80, 0x39, 0x48, 0x81, 0x89, 0x93, 0x17, 0x0c, 0xd9, 0xe2,
+	0xe7, 0x4e, 0xfd, 0xf5, 0x1c, 0xe4, 0xd1, 0x61, 0x54, 0xb7, 0xad, 0xa3, 0x64, 0x78, 0x76, 0x75,
+	0xdd, 0x59, 0xf9, 0x71, 0xdd, 0x59, 0xf9, 0xba, 0xe8, 0x78, 0x57, 0x8b, 0x8e, 0xf7, 0x7d, 0xd1,
+	0xf1, 0x7e, 0x2d, 0x3a, 0xde, 0xd9, 0xab, 0xbf, 0x7d, 0x6c, 0x2f, 0xab, 0xdf, 0xf3, 0xba, 0x7b,
+	0x47, 0xcf, 0xff, 0x04, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xd7, 0x10, 0x71, 0xdd, 0xb7, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00,
 }
 
 func (m *Options) Marshal() (dAtA []byte, err error) {
diff --git a/runtime/v2/runc/options/oci.proto b/runtime/v2/runc/options/oci.proto
index d59221c01..71a637dbb 100644
--- a/runtime/v2/runc/options/oci.proto
+++ b/runtime/v2/runc/options/oci.proto
@@ -21,8 +21,13 @@ message Options {
 	string binary_name = 6;
 	// runc root directory
 	string root = 7;
-	// criu binary path
-	string criu_path = 8;
+	// criu binary path.
+	//
+	// Deprecated: runc option --criu is now ignored (with a warning), and the
+	// option will be removed entirely in a future release. Users who need a non-
+	// standard criu binary should rely on the standard way of looking up binaries
+	// in $PATH.
+	string criu_path = 8 [deprecated = true];
 	// enable systemd cgroups
 	bool systemd_cgroup = 9;
 	// criu image path
diff --git a/runtime/v2/runc/v1/service.go b/runtime/v2/runc/v1/service.go
index da81e2605..6765adfa2 100644
--- a/runtime/v2/runc/v1/service.go
+++ b/runtime/v2/runc/v1/service.go
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ func (s *service) Cleanup(ctx context.Context) (*taskAPI.DeleteResponse, error)
 		root = opts.Root
 	}
 
-	r := process.NewRunc(root, path, ns, runtime, "", false)
+	r := process.NewRunc(root, path, ns, runtime, false)
 	if err := r.Delete(ctx, s.id, &runcC.DeleteOpts{
 		Force: true,
 	}); err != nil {