Rancher: Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
CVE-2026-94290 is a critical-severity execution with unnecessary privileges vulnerability in Rancher from SUSE, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 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 versions 0.16.3, 0.15.8, 0.14.12 as the first without the flaw, so updating Rancher to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.5% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Update Rancher to 0.16.3 or 0.15.8 or 0.14.12 or 0.13.17, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSE | Rancher | 0.16.0 up to, but not including, 0.16.3; 0.15.0 up to, but not including, 0.15.8; 0.14.0 up to, but not including, 0.14.12; 0.13.0 up to, but not including, 0.13.17 | 0.16.3, 0.15.8, 0.14.12, 0.13.17 |
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
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (suse.de).
Official description
SUSE Rancher Fleet clusters reference a kubeconfig secret that the controller uses to install and manage a Fleet agent on the target cluster. The controller did not sufficiently restrict which kubeconfig secrets a Fleet Cluster object was allowed to reference. As a result, a Fleet cluster defined in a namespace an ordinary user controls could be associated with administrative credentials for the management cluster itself, causing the controller to manage the management cluster on that user's behalf and to run that user's Fleet content there with elevated privileges. This affects SUSE Rancher Fleet 0.16.0 up to 0.16.3, 0.15.0 up to 0.15.8, 0.14.0 up to 0.14.12, 0.13.0 up to 0.13.17 and possible older versions.
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
- 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
Other vulnerabilities in Rancher
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.2 High severity
- 7.6 High severity
- 7.9 High severity
- 8.5 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
Recent Execution with Unnecessary Privileges vulnerabilities
- 8.6 High severity
- 9.0 Critical severity
- 9.6 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 10.0 Critical severity
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