CVE-2026-44543: CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management in rancher local-path-provisioner
Local Path Provisioner provides a way for the Kubernetes users to utilize the local storage in each node. Prior to 0.0.36, a malicious user with permission to edit the local-path-config ConfigMap in the local-path-storage namespace can manipulate the helperPod.yaml template used by rancher/local-path-provisioner. The helperPod.yaml template is loaded by the provisioner and used to create HelperPods during PVC provisioning and cleanup operations. However, the template is not sufficiently validated before use. Security-sensitive fields such as securityContext.privileged, hostPath volumes, and Linux capabilities can be injected into the template. When a PVC operation triggers HelperPod creation, the provisioner creates the HelperPod using the attacker-controlled template. This can result in a privileged pod running on the target node with the host root filesystem mounted. This may allow the attacker to access sensitive host files, read ServiceAccount tokens from other pods on the same node, access other tenants' local-path volume data, or modify files on the host node. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.0.36.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The local-path-provisioner component in rancher Kubernetes environments uses a helperPod.yaml template to create HelperPods for PVC provisioning and cleanup. Before version 0.0.36, this template could be manipulated by users with edit permissions on the local-path-config ConfigMap in the local-path-storage namespace. Because the template is insufficiently validated, attackers can inject security-sensitive fields such as privileged securityContext, hostPath volumes, and Linux capabilities. When the provisioner creates HelperPods from this attacker-controlled template, it results in privileged pods with host root filesystem mounts, compromising node security and tenant isolation. This vulnerability is tracked as CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) and has a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.7 (high severity).
Potential Impact
Exploitation allows an attacker with ConfigMap edit permissions to escalate privileges by running privileged pods on the host node with access to the host root filesystem. This can lead to unauthorized reading of sensitive host files, ServiceAccount tokens from other pods, access to other tenants' local-path volume data, and modification of host files. The impact affects confidentiality and integrity of the host and multi-tenant data on the node. Availability impact is not indicated.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in local-path-provisioner version 0.0.36. Users should upgrade to version 0.0.36 or later to remediate this issue. Since no official patch or temporary fix is indicated beyond the version update, upgrading is the recommended action. Restricting edit permissions on the local-path-config ConfigMap can reduce risk but does not fully mitigate the vulnerability. Patch status is not explicitly stated beyond the fix in version 0.0.36, so verify with vendor advisories for the latest remediation guidance.
CVE-2026-44543: CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management in rancher local-path-provisioner
Description
Local Path Provisioner provides a way for the Kubernetes users to utilize the local storage in each node. Prior to 0.0.36, a malicious user with permission to edit the local-path-config ConfigMap in the local-path-storage namespace can manipulate the helperPod.yaml template used by rancher/local-path-provisioner. The helperPod.yaml template is loaded by the provisioner and used to create HelperPods during PVC provisioning and cleanup operations. However, the template is not sufficiently validated before use. Security-sensitive fields such as securityContext.privileged, hostPath volumes, and Linux capabilities can be injected into the template. When a PVC operation triggers HelperPod creation, the provisioner creates the HelperPod using the attacker-controlled template. This can result in a privileged pod running on the target node with the host root filesystem mounted. This may allow the attacker to access sensitive host files, read ServiceAccount tokens from other pods on the same node, access other tenants' local-path volume data, or modify files on the host node. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.0.36.
CVSS v3.1
Score 8.7high
Affected software
pkg:github/rancher/local-path-provisionerRun on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The local-path-provisioner component in rancher Kubernetes environments uses a helperPod.yaml template to create HelperPods for PVC provisioning and cleanup. Before version 0.0.36, this template could be manipulated by users with edit permissions on the local-path-config ConfigMap in the local-path-storage namespace. Because the template is insufficiently validated, attackers can inject security-sensitive fields such as privileged securityContext, hostPath volumes, and Linux capabilities. When the provisioner creates HelperPods from this attacker-controlled template, it results in privileged pods with host root filesystem mounts, compromising node security and tenant isolation. This vulnerability is tracked as CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) and has a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.7 (high severity).
Potential Impact
Exploitation allows an attacker with ConfigMap edit permissions to escalate privileges by running privileged pods on the host node with access to the host root filesystem. This can lead to unauthorized reading of sensitive host files, ServiceAccount tokens from other pods, access to other tenants' local-path volume data, and modification of host files. The impact affects confidentiality and integrity of the host and multi-tenant data on the node. Availability impact is not indicated.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in local-path-provisioner version 0.0.36. Users should upgrade to version 0.0.36 or later to remediate this issue. Since no official patch or temporary fix is indicated beyond the version update, upgrading is the recommended action. Restricting edit permissions on the local-path-config ConfigMap can reduce risk but does not fully mitigate the vulnerability. Patch status is not explicitly stated beyond the fix in version 0.0.36, so verify with vendor advisories for the latest remediation guidance.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-06T19:38:10.567Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a1871ece29bf47b50124581
Added to database: 05/28/2026, 16:48:44 UTC
Last enriched: 06/04/2026, 20:49:05 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:22:59 UTC
Views: 66
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