etcd: Watch API authorization bypass via open-ended range requests
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 8 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-863.
Summary
etcd is a distributed key-value store for the data of a distributed system. Prior to versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1, a user granted READ permission on a single exact key can use the Watch gRPC API with clientv3.WithFromKey() to receive watch events for every key lexicographically greater than or equal to the permitted key. In server/etcdserver/api/v3rpc/watch.go, the open-ended RangeEnd sentinel is rewritten before the RBAC permission check in server/auth/range_perm_cache.go function isRangeOpPermitted, causing the request to be treated as an exact-key watch. Range/Get and DeleteRange requests are not affected, and the issue affects only clusters with authentication enabled. This issue is fixed in versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| etcd-io | etcd | before 3.5.33; 3.6.0 to before 3.6.14; 3.7.0-alpha.0 to before 3.7.1 | 3.5.33, 3.6.14, 3.7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) | 3.7.0-alpha.0 to before 3.7.1 | 3.7.1 | Patch available | GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8 |
| — | go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) | 3.6.0 to before 3.6.14 | 3.6.14 | Patch available | GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8 |
| — | go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) | before 3.5.33 | 3.5.33 | Patch available | GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8 |
- etcd Vendoretcd-io Affected before 3.5.33; 3.6.0 to before 3.6.14; 3.7.0-alpha.0 to before 3.7.1 Fixed in 3.5.33, 3.6.14, 3.7.1 Patch available CNA
- go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) Vendor— Affected 3.7.0-alpha.0 to before 3.7.1 Fixed in 3.7.1 Patch available GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8
- go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) Vendor— Affected 3.6.0 to before 3.6.14 Fixed in 3.6.14 Patch available GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8
- go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) Vendor— Affected before 3.5.33 Fixed in 3.5.33 Patch available GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8
Remediation
- Fix · CNA etcd (etcd-io) Fixed in 3.5.33, 3.6.14, 3.7.1
- Fix · GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8 go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) Fixed in 3.7.1 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8 go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) Fixed in 3.6.14 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8 go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 (Go) Fixed in 3.5.33 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Multicluster Global Hub | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes 2 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift GitOps | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 8 products
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2
- Red Hat Ceph Storage 5
- Red Hat Ceph Storage 6
- Red Hat Ceph Storage 7
- Red Hat Ceph Storage 8
- Red Hat Ceph Storage 9
- Red Hat Hardened Images
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-73499
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8
- 2026-10-06 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 9
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/6643f80602461a6095c9b294b6512fd9719bef41
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/7cf71ec9e2ec54230a5454392fa4ffd4574b41ed
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/afeaa624da19085b47fb5ccc7c22a8c421bc2eae
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/e863b001bbf3367003a543aa3099db9892134cd7
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.5.33
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.6.14
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.7.1
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd
More etcd-io vulnerabilities
- TI-2021-09444 Authentication vulnerability found in Etcd-io v.3.4.10 allows remote attackers to… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-51612 etcd: `tlsListener.acceptLoop` spawns unbounded handshake goroutines with no deadline CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-25810 etcd: Authorization bypasses in multiple APIs CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-15016 Etcd v3.5.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via function… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2018-12096 Improper authentication in etcd: CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2026-42635 etcd: gRPC client listener does not enforce `--client-crl-file` certificate revocation CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
Sources
- CVE-2026-73499 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-73499 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-73499 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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