CVE-2022-43759 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in github.com/rancher/rancher (go), affecting versions >= 2.5.0, < 2.5.17. It is fixed in 2.5.17, 2.6.10.
Impact An issue was discovered in Rancher versions from 2.5.0 up to and including 2.5.16 and from 2.6.0 up to and including 2.6.9, where an authorization logic flaw allows privilege escalation via project role template binding (PRTB) and -promoted roles. This issue is not present in Rancher 2.7 releases. Note: Consult Rancher documentation for more information about cluster and project roles and KB 000020097 for information about -promoted roles. This privilege escalation is possible for users with access to the escalate verb on PRTBs (projectroletemplatebindings.management.cattle.io), including users with verbs on PRTBs (see notes below for more information). These users can escalate permissions for any -promoted resource (see the table below for a full enumeration) in any cluster where they have a PRTB granting such permissions in at least one project in the cluster. On a default Rancher setup, only the following roles have such permissions: Project Owner Manage Project Members These roles have permissions to affect the following resources: | Resource | API Group | Affected Rancher version | | - | - | - | | navlinks | ui.cattle.io | 2.6 | | nodes | "" | 2.6 | | persistentvolumes | "" | 2.5, 2.6 | | persistentvolumes | core | 2.5, 2.6 | | storageclasses | storage.k8s.io | 2.5, 2.6 | | apiservices | apiregistration.k8s.io | 2.5, 2.6 | | clusterrepos | catalog.cattle.io | 2.5, 2.6 | | clusters (local only) | management.cattle.io | 2.5, 2.6 | Notes: During the calculation of the CVSS score, privileges required was considered as high because, by default, standard user and user-base users in Rancher do not have create, patch and update permissions on roletemplates. If a role template with access to those objects was already created by another user in the cluster, then this issue can be exploited by users without the mentioned permissions from point 1. Workarounds If updating Rancher to a patched version is not possible, then the following workarounds must be observed to mitigate this issue: Only grant Project Owner and Manage Project Members roles to trusted users. Minimize the creation of custom roles that contain the escalate, or write verbs (create, delete, patch, update) on projectroletemplatebindings resource, and only grant such custom roles to trusted users. Minimize the number of users that have permissions to create, patch and update roletemplates. Patches Patched versions include releases 2.5.17 and 2.6.10 and later versions. This issue is not present in Rancher 2.7 releases. Detection The following script was developed to list role template bindings that give written access to the affected resources listed above. It is highly recommended to run the script in your environment and review the list of identified roles and role template bindings for possible signs of exploitation of this issue. The script requires jq installed and a kubeconfig with access to Rancher local cluster; it can also be executed in Rancher's kubectl shell. For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: Reach out to SUSE Rancher Security team for security related inquiries. Open an issue in Rancher repository. Verify our support matrix and product support lifecycle
The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access. Typical impact: privilege escalation beyond the intended level.
CVE-2022-43759 has a CVSS score of 7.2 (High). The vector is network-reachable, high privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment.
A fixed version is available (2.5.17, 2.6.10). Upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
go
github.com/rancher/rancher (>= 2.5.0, < 2.5.17)github.com/rancher/rancher (>= 2.6.0, < 2.6.10)github.com/rancher/rancher → 2.5.17 (go)github.com/rancher/rancher → 2.6.10 (go)Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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Already deployed Kodem? See CVE-2022-43759 in your environment →Upgrade the following packages to resolve this vulnerability:
github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.5.17 or latergithub.com/rancher/rancher to 2.6.10 or laterKodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
CVE-2022-43759 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in github.com/rancher/rancher (go), affecting versions >= 2.5.0, < 2.5.17. It is fixed in 2.5.17, 2.6.10. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
CVE-2022-43759 has a CVSS score of 7.2 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
github.com/rancher/rancher (go) versions >= 2.5.0, < 2.5.17 is affected.
Yes. CVE-2022-43759 is fixed in 2.5.17, 2.6.10. Upgrade to this version or later.
Whether CVE-2022-43759 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.5.17 or latergithub.com/rancher/rancher to 2.6.10 or later