Summary
Rancher allows privilege escalation in Windows nodes due to Insecure Access Control Lists
Workarounds
Users are advised to upgrade to a patched version of Rancher Manager. When that is not possible, users can enforce stricter ACLs for all sensitive files affected by this Security Advisory running this PowerShell script as an Administrator on each node.
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Reach out to the SUSE Rancher Security team for security related inquiries.
- Open an issue in the Rancher repository.
- Verify with our support matrix and product support lifecycle.
Impact
A vulnerability has been identified whereby Rancher Manager deployments containing Windows nodes have weak Access Control Lists (ACL), allowing BUILTIN\Users or NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users to view or edit sensitive files which could lead to privilege escalation.
The affected files include binaries, scripts, configuration and log files:
C:\etc\rancher\wins\config
C:\var\lib\rancher\agent\rancher2_connection_info.json
C:\etc\rancher\rke2\config.yaml.d\50-rancher.yaml
C:\var\lib\rancher\agent\applied\*-*-applied.plan
C:\usr\local\bin\rke2
C:\var\lib\rancher\capr\idempotence\idempotent.sh
RKE2 nodes expand the list to include the files below:
C:\etc\rancher\node\password
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\agent\logs\kubelet.log
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\data\v1.**.**-rke2r*-windows-amd64-*\bin\*
C:\var\lib\rancher\rke2\bin\*
This vulnerability is exclusive to deployments that contain Windows nodes. Linux-only environments are not affected by it.
Please consult the associated MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation for further information about this category of attack.
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-2023-32197 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (Critical). 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 (2.8.9, 2.9.3); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
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.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Patched versions include Rancher Manager 2.8.9 and 2.9.3. For RKE2 Windows nodes, please refer to its specific advisory. No patches are available for 2.7, therefore users are urged to upgrade to newer minor versions or to apply the manual workaround below.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-32197? CVE-2023-32197 is a critical-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in github.com/rancher/rancher (go), affecting versions >= 2.7.0, < 2.8.9. It is fixed in 2.8.9, 2.9.3. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
- How severe is CVE-2023-32197? CVE-2023-32197 has a CVSS score of 9.1 (Critical). 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.
- Which versions of github.com/rancher/rancher are affected by CVE-2023-32197? github.com/rancher/rancher (go) versions >= 2.7.0, < 2.8.9 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-32197? Yes. CVE-2023-32197 is fixed in 2.8.9, 2.9.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-32197 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-32197 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-32197 is exploitable, and how bad it is? 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-32197?
- Upgrade
github.com/rancher/rancherto 2.8.9 or later - Upgrade
github.com/rancher/rancherto 2.9.3 or later
- Upgrade