CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-18608NVD status: Awaiting Analysis

Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25: Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-18608 is a high-severity execution with unnecessary privileges vulnerability in Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25 from Red Hat, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.7 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.7% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 54% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25 you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 2.25Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.3Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.5Not specified in the recordNot stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA (redhat.com).

Official description

A flaw was found in the Data Science Pipelines Operator (DSPO). The operator's ClusterRole, which defines its permissions, includes extensive privileges beyond what is necessary for its operation. These excessive permissions, such as the ability to execute commands within pods and manage cluster-wide roles, could be exploited. If the DSPO pod were compromised, an attacker could leverage these privileges to gain full administrative control over the entire Kubernetes cluster.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

The product performs an operation at a privilege level that is higher than the minimum level required, which creates new weaknesses or amplifies the consequences of other weaknesses.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.
  • Identify the functionality that requires additional privileges, such as access to privileged operating system resources. Wrap and centralize this functionality if possible, and isolate the privileged code as much as possible from other code. Raise privileges as late as possible, and drop them as soon as possible to avoid CWE-271. Avoid weaknesses such as CWE-288 and CWE-420 by protecting all possible communication channels that could interact with the privileged code, such as a secondary socket that is only intended to be accessed by administrators.
  • Identify the functionality that requires additional privileges, such as access to privileged operating system resources. Wrap and centralize this functionality if possible, and isolate the privileged code as much as possible from other code. Raise privileges as late as possible, and drop them as soon as possible to avoid CWE-271. Avoid weaknesses such as CWE-288 and CWE-420 by protecting all possible communication channels that could interact with the privileged code, such as a secondary socket that is only intended to be accessed by administrators.

More Execution with Unnecessary Privileges vulnerabilities (CWE-250)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25

All Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25 vulnerabilities

Recent Execution with Unnecessary Privileges vulnerabilities

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