GHSA-x7xj-jvwp-97rv
RKE2 allows privilege escalation in Windows nodes due to Insecure Access Control Lists
GHSA-x7xj-jvwp-97rv is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.1) in github.com/rancher/rke2, published October 25, 2024. No source lists public exploit code. Fixed in github.com/rancher/rke2 1.27.15.
- Severity
- 9.1 CriticalCVSS 3.1, GitHub Advisories
- Exploit chance
- UnscoredNo EPSS score yet
- Exploitation
- None knownNot on CISA’s or ENISA’s lists
- Fixed in
1.27.15github.com/rancher/rke2 +4 more
Description
Impact
A vulnerability has been identified whereby RKE2 deployments in Windows nodes have weak Access Control Lists (ACL), allowing BUILTIN\Users or NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users to view or edit sensitive files which could lead to privilege escalation.
The affected files include binaries, scripts, configuration and log files:
C:\etc\rancher\node\password
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\agent\logs\kubelet.log
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\data\v1.**.**-rke2r*-windows-amd64-*\bin\*
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\bin\*
This vulnerability is exclusive to RKE2 in Windows environments. Linux environments are not affected by it.
Please consult the associated MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation for further information about this category of attack.
Patches
Patched versions include RKE2 1.31.0, 1.30.2, 1.29.6, 1.28.11 and 1.27.15.
Workarounds
Users are advised to do a fresh install of their RKE2 Windows nodes using a patched RKE2 version. When that is not possible, users can enforce stricter ACLs for all sensitive files affected by this Security Advisory running this PowerShell script as an Administrator on each node.
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Reach out to the SUSE Rancher Security team for security related inquiries.
- Open an issue in the Rancher repository.
- Verify with our support matrix and product support lifecycle.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
github.com/rancher/rke2Go | 1.27.0 up to 1.27.15 | 1.27.15 |
github.com/rancher/rke2Go | 1.28.0 up to 1.28.11 | 1.28.11 |
github.com/rancher/rke2Go | 1.29.0 up to 1.29.6 | 1.29.6 |
github.com/rancher/rke2Go | 1.30.0 up to 1.30.2 | 1.30.2 |
github.com/rancher/rke2Go | All versions | None known |
What each source reports
GitHub Advisories Score used 9.1
RKE2 allows privilege escalation in Windows nodes due to Insecure Access Control Lists
Impact
A vulnerability has been identified whereby RKE2 deployments in Windows nodes have weak Access Control Lists (ACL), allowing BUILTIN\Users or NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users to view or edit sensitive files which could lead to privilege escalation.
The affected files include binaries, scripts, configuration and log files:
C:\etc\rancher\node\password
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\agent\logs\kubelet.log
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\data\v1.**.**-rke2r*-windows-amd64-*\bin\*
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\bin\*
This vulnerability is exclusive to RKE2 in Windows environments. Linux environments are not affected by it.
Please consult the associated MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation for further information about this category of attack.
Patches
Patched versions include RKE2 1.31.0, 1.30.2, 1.29.6, 1.28.11 and 1.27.15.
Workarounds
Users are advised to do a fresh install of their RKE2 Windows nodes using a patched RKE2 version. When that is not possible, users can enforce stricter ACLs for all sensitive files affected by this Security Advisory running this PowerShell script as an Administrator on each node.
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Reach out to the SUSE Rancher Security team for security related inquiries.
- Open an issue in the Rancher repository.
- Verify with our support matrix and product support lifecycle.
- Record
GHSA-x7xj-jvwp-97rv- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269, CWE-732
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV 9.1
RKE2 allows privilege escalation in Windows nodes due to Insecure Access Control Lists
Impact
A vulnerability has been identified whereby RKE2 deployments in Windows nodes have weak Access Control Lists (ACL), allowing BUILTIN\Users or NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users to view or edit sensitive files which could lead to privilege escalation.
The affected files include binaries, scripts, configuration and log files:
C:\etc\rancher\node\password
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\agent\logs\kubelet.log
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\data\v1.**.**-rke2r*-windows-amd64-*\bin\*
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\bin\*
This vulnerability is exclusive to RKE2 in Windows environments. Linux environments are not affected by it.
Please consult the associated MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation for further information about this category of attack.
Patches
Patched versions include RKE2 1.31.0, 1.30.2, 1.29.6, 1.28.11 and 1.27.15.
Workarounds
Users are advised to do a fresh install of their RKE2 Windows nodes using a patched RKE2 version. When that is not possible, users can enforce stricter ACLs for all sensitive files affected by this Security Advisory running this PowerShell script as an Administrator on each node.
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Reach out to the SUSE Rancher Security team for security related inquiries.
- Open an issue in the Rancher repository.
- Verify with our support matrix and product support lifecycle.
- Record
GHSA-x7xj-jvwp-97rv- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269, CWE-732
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGO-2024-3222No score
RKE2 allows privilege escalation in Windows nodes due to Insecure Access Control Lists in github.com/rancher/rke2
RKE2 allows privilege escalation in Windows nodes due to Insecure Access Control Lists in github.com/rancher/rke2.
NOTE: The source advisory for this report contains additional versions that could not be automatically mapped to standard Go module versions.
(If this is causing false-positive reports from vulnerability scanners, please suggest an edit to the report.)
The additional affected modules and versions are: github.com/rancher/rke2 from v1.27.0 before v1.27.15, from v1.28.0 before v1.28.11, from v1.29.0 before v1.29.6, from v1.30.0 before v1.30.2.
- Record
GO-2024-3222- Updated
- 2026-11-02
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | GitHub Advisories, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.