Summary
OpenShift Controller Manager Improper Privilege Management
A flaw was found in OpenShift. This issue occurs due to the misuse of elevated privileges in the OpenShift Container Platform's build process. During the build initialization step, the git-clone container is run with a privileged security context, allowing unrestricted access to the node. An attacker with developer-level access can provide a crafted .gitconfig file containing commands executed during the cloning process, leading to arbitrary command execution on the worker node. An attacker running code in a privileged container could escalate their permissions on the node running the container.
Impact
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-2024-45496 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (0.0.0-alpha.0.0.20240911); 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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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-45496? CVE-2024-45496 is a medium-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in github.com/openshift/openshift-controller-manager (go), affecting versions < 0.0.0-alpha.0.0.20240911. It is fixed in 0.0.0-alpha.0.0.20240911. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
- How severe is CVE-2024-45496? CVE-2024-45496 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (Medium). 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/openshift/openshift-controller-manager are affected by CVE-2024-45496? github.com/openshift/openshift-controller-manager (go) versions < 0.0.0-alpha.0.0.20240911 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-45496? Yes. CVE-2024-45496 is fixed in 0.0.0-alpha.0.0.20240911. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-45496 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-45496 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-2024-45496 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-2024-45496? Upgrade
github.com/openshift/openshift-controller-managerto 0.0.0-alpha.0.0.20240911 or later.