CVE-2025-54469

Workarounds

There is no workaround for this issue. Users are recommended to upgrade, as soon as possible, to a version of NeuVector that contains the fix.

References

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 NeuVector repository.
• Verify with our support matrix and product support lifecycle.

A vulnerability was identified in NeuVector, where the enforcer used environment variables CLUSTER_RPC_PORT and CLUSTER_LAN_PORT to generate a command to be executed via popen, without first sanitising their values.

The entry process of the enforcer container is the monitor process. When the enforcer container stops, the monitor process checks whether the consul subprocess has exited. To perform this check, the monitor process uses the popen function to execute a shell command that determines whether the ports used by the consul subprocess are still active.

The values of environment variables CLUSTER_RPC_PORT and CLUSTER_LAN_PORT are used directly to compose shell commands via popen without validation or sanitization. This behavior could allow a malicious user to inject malicious commands through these variables within the enforcer container.

In the patched version, the monitor process validates the values of CLUSTER_RPC_PORT and CLUSTER_LAN_PORT to ensure they contain only valid port numbers before invoking the popen command.

If validation fails, the monitor process exits immediately, causing the enforcer container to terminate. This prevents the execution of any injected or malicious commands.

Untrusted input is inserted into a command that is later executed by the application, allowing the attacker to alter the intent of that command. Typical impact: arbitrary command execution in the application's environment.

CVE-2025-54469 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (Critical). 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 (5.3.5, 5.4.7, 0.0.0-20251020133207-084a437033b4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Patched versions include release v5.4.7 and above.

1. What is CVE-2025-54469? CVE-2025-54469 is a critical-severity command injection vulnerability in github.com/neuvector/neuvector (go), affecting versions >= 5.3.0, < 5.3.5. It is fixed in 5.3.5, 5.4.7, 0.0.0-20251020133207-084a437033b4. Untrusted input is inserted into a command that is later executed by the application, allowing the attacker to alter the intent of that command.
2. How severe is CVE-2025-54469? CVE-2025-54469 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (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.
3. Which versions of github.com/neuvector/neuvector are affected by CVE-2025-54469? github.com/neuvector/neuvector (go) versions >= 5.3.0, < 5.3.5 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2025-54469? Yes. CVE-2025-54469 is fixed in 5.3.5, 5.4.7, 0.0.0-20251020133207-084a437033b4. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2025-54469 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-54469 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2025-54469 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2025-54469?
   • Upgrade github.com/neuvector/neuvector to 5.3.5 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/neuvector/neuvector to 5.4.7 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/neuvector/neuvector to 0.0.0-20251020133207-084a437033b4 or later