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TI-2023-11631 Aliases CVE-2023-26484GHSA-cp96-jpmq-xrr2

On a compromised KubeVirt node, the virt-handler service account can be used to modify all node specs

Priority LOW 39CWE-863Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High
Impact type
Security bypass
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · High · None
Fix status
Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-863.

Summary

KubeVirt is a virtual machine management add-on for Kubernetes. In versions 0.59.0 and prior, if a malicious user has taken over a Kubernetes node where virt-handler (the KubeVirt node-daemon) is running, the virt-handler service account can be used to modify all node specs. This can be misused to lure-in system-level-privileged components which can, for instance, read all secrets on the cluster, or can exec into pods on other nodes. This way, a compromised node can be used to elevate privileges beyond the node until potentially having full privileged access to the whole cluster. The simplest way to exploit this, once a user could compromise a specific node, is to set with the virt-handler service account all other nodes to unschedulable and simply wait until system-critical components with high privileges appear on its node. No patches are available as of time of publication. As a workaround, gatekeeper users can add a webhook which will block the `virt-handler` service account to modify the spec of a node.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00611 49th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Total

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
kubevirtkubevirtup to 0.59.0—No fix listedCNA
—kubevirt.io/kubevirt (Go)up to 0.59.0—No fix listedGHSA-cp96-jpmq-xrr2
  • kubevirt Vendorkubevirt Affected up to 0.59.0 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
  • kubevirt.io/kubevirt (Go) Vendor— Affected up to 0.59.0 Fixed in — No fix listed GHSA-cp96-jpmq-xrr2

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:kubevirt:kubevirt:*:*:*:*:*:kubernetes:*:*up to 0.59.0Vulnerablekubevirt
  • cpe:2.3:a:kubevirt:kubevirt:*:*:*:*:*:kubernetes:*:* Versions up to 0.59.0 Vulnerable ·kubevirt

Remediation

No fixed version listed by the sources yet.

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization 4AffectedNo fix planned: Will not fix
Not affected: 1 product
  • Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization 4

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-26484
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-cp96-jpmq-xrr2

References

Advisory 3

Other 1

  • TI-2025-39759 KubeVirt Vulnerable to Arbitrary Host File Read and Write CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.5
  • TI-2022-01664 Path Traversal vulnerability in Kubevirt CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.7
  • TI-2025-39849 KubeVirt Excessive Role Permissions Could Enable Unauthorized VMI Migrations Between Nodes CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
  • TI-2025-39846 KubeVirt Arbitrary Container File Read CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
  • TI-2025-39847 KubeVirt Improper TLS Certificate Management Handling Allows API Identity Spoofing CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.3
  • TI-2025-39848 KubeVirt VMI Denial-of-Service (DoS) Using Pod Impersonation CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
See all 17 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences