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CVE-2023-32196 — Rancher allows privilege escalation in...

CRITICAL

Rancher allows privilege escalation in Windows nodes due to Insecure Access Control Lists

Published October 25, 2024Updated September 10, 2026Source: osv

Summary

### Impact A vulnerability has been identified whereby Rancher Manager deployments containing 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\wins\config C:\var\lib\rancher\agent\rancher2_connection_info.json C:\etc\rancher\rke2\config.yaml.d\50-rancher.yaml C:\var\lib\rancher\agent\applied\*-*-applied.plan C:\usr\local\bin\rke2 C:\var\lib\rancher\capr\idempotence\idempotent.sh ``` RKE2 nodes expand the list to include the files below: ``` 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 deployments that contain Windows nodes. Linux-only environments are not affected by it.** Please consult the associated [MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1068/) for further information about this category of attack. ### Patches Patched versions include Rancher Manager `2.8.9` and `2.9.3`. For RKE2 Windows nodes, please refer to its [specific advisory](https://github.com/rancher/rke2/security/advisories/GHSA-x7xj-jvwp-97rv). No patches are available for 2.7, therefore users are urged to upgrade to newer minor versions or to apply the manual workaround below. ### Workarounds Users are advised to upgrade to a patched version of Rancher Manager. When that is not possible, users can enforce stricter ACLs for all sensitive files affected by this Security Advisory running [this](https://github.com/rancherlabs/support-tools/blob/master/windows-access-control-lists/README.md) PowerShell script as an Administrator on each node. ### References - [CVE-2023-32197](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-32197) - [RKE2’s GHSA-x7xj-jvwp-97rv](https://github.com/rancher/rke2/security/advisories/GHSA-x7xj-jvwp-97rv) ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: - Reach out to the [SUSE Rancher Security team](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/security/policy) for security related inquiries. - Open an issue in the [Rancher](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/issues/new/choose) repository. - Verify with our [support matrix](https://www.suse.com/suse-rancher/support-matrix/all-supported-versions/) and [product support lifecycle](https://www.suse.com/lifecycle/).

Advisory Timeline

  • First published October 25, 2024 (717 days ago).
  • Last revised September 10, 2026 — 684 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Go
Update github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.9.3 or later
go get github.com/rancher/rancher@v2.9.3
Go
Update github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.8.9 or later
go get github.com/rancher/rancher@v2.8.9

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (2)

Affects 1 ecosystem: go (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
github.com/rancher/rancher
go
All versions2.9.3
github.com/rancher/rancher
go
All versions2.8.9

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-269
    Improper Privilege ManagementMITRE
  • CWE-732
    Incorrect Permission AssignmentMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.1 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-32196?
Rancher allows privilege escalation in Windows nodes due to Insecure Access Control Lists This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.1/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2023-32196?
CVE-2023-32196 affects github.com/rancher/rancher. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2023-32196 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.1

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-7h8m-pvw3-5gh4
CVE-2023-32197
GHSA-64jq-m7rq-768h
GO-2024-2929
GO-2024-3220

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