CVE-2024-9779VulnerabilityPublished 17 Dec 2024Updated 25 Feb 2026

CVE-2024-9779: ocm · Incorrect Privilege Assignment

Affects ocmSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 37% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 Dec 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubopen-cluster-management-io/ocm`pkg:github/open-cluster-management-io/ocm`Other threats	Affected =0.12.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-9779, organizations should immediately restrict access to worker nodes hosting cluster-manager or klusterlet pods, ensuring only trusted administrators have node-level permissions. Implement strict network segmentation and node isolation to limit the ability of attackers to run pods on these nodes. Review and tighten RBAC policies associated with the cluster-manager service account to follow the principle of least privilege, removing unnecessary permissions such as pod creation if feasible. Monitor audit logs for suspicious pod creation activities and service account token usage. Employ runtime security tools to detect anomalous behavior on nodes and within pods. Upgrade OCM to a patched version once available from the vendor or apply any recommended security patches promptly. Consider using Kubernetes Pod Security Policies or equivalent admission controllers to restrict pod capabilities and volume mounts. Finally, conduct regular security assessments of cluster configurations and node access controls to prevent unauthorized access.

Description

A flaw was found in Open Cluster Management (OCM) when a user has access to the worker nodes which contain the cluster-manager or klusterlet deployments. The cluster-manager deployment uses a service account with the same name "cluster-manager" which is bound to a ClusterRole also named "cluster-manager", which includes the permission to create Pod resources. If this deployment runs a pod on an attacker-controlled node, the attacker can obtain the cluster-manager's token and steal any service account token by creating and mounting the target service account to control the whole cluster.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2024-9779 is substantial for organizations running Open Cluster Management 0.12.0. An attacker with access to a worker node can escalate privileges to gain full control over the Kubernetes cluster by stealing service account tokens. This compromises the confidentiality of sensitive data and credentials stored in the cluster, undermines the integrity of workloads by allowing unauthorized pod creation and manipulation, and could lead to further lateral movement or persistent backdoors. Although availability impact is not directly indicated, the attacker’s ability to control the cluster could enable denial-of-service attacks or disruption of critical services. Organizations relying on OCM for multi-cluster management or governance are at risk of widespread compromise if this vulnerability is exploited. The requirement for node access means that internal threats or attackers who have breached perimeter defenses pose the greatest risk. The vulnerability could facilitate advanced persistent threats (APTs) targeting cloud-native infrastructure, making it a critical concern for enterprises with Kubernetes deployments.

References

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