Rancher: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
CVE-2026-71404 is a high-severity authorization bypass through user-controlled key vulnerability in Rancher from SUSE, 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. The record lists version 2.15.1 as the first without the flaw, so updating Rancher to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.42% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Rancher to 2.15.1 or a later version.
Affected products and versions
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
- NoneNo data is disclosed.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (suse.de).
Official description
A flaw was found in Rancher Manager. The GlobalRole controller derived the target ClusterRole name from the user-settable `authz.management.cattle.io/cr-name` annotation and overwrote that object's rules without verifying ownership. A user with delegated GlobalRole create or update permission could point the annotation at any existing ClusterRole, such as `cluster-admin`, and revoke the permissions of every principal bound to it. The change persists after the malicious GlobalRole is deleted. This issue affects Rancher: before 2.15.1.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
The system's authorization functionality does not prevent one user from gaining access to another user's data or record by modifying the key value identifying the data.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- For each and every data access, ensure that the user has sufficient privilege to access the record that is being requested.
- Make sure that the key that is used in the lookup of a specific user's record is not controllable externally by the user or that any tampering can be detected.
- Use encryption in order to make it more difficult to guess other legitimate values of the key or associate a digital signature with the key so that the server can verify that there has been no tampering.
More Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerabilities (CWE-639)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- github.com/rancher/rancher/pull/56593Issue Tracking
- github.com/rancher/rancher/pull/56642Issue Tracking
Other vulnerabilities in Rancher
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.2 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.6 High severity
- 7.9 High severity
- 8.5 High severity
Recent Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerabilities
- 10.0 Critical severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
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