CVE-2026-44938 is a high-severity security vulnerability in github.com/rancher/fleet (go), affecting versions >= 0.15.0, < 0.15.2. It is fixed in 0.15.2, 0.14.6, 0.13.11, 0.12.15.
Impact A vulnerability has been identified in Fleet's agent-side deployer, which did not filter security-sensitive keys from namespaceLabels in fleet.yaml (or BundleDeployment.spec.options.namespaceLabels) when applying them to the target namespace. An attacker with git push access to a Fleet-monitored repository could overwrite Pod Security Standards (PSS) enforcement labels on a target namespace. This allows the attacker to weaken admission controls and deploy workloads that PSS policies would otherwise block. Important: The final impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability depends on the specific permissions of the leaked credentials. Fleet team recommends you: Review your system for potentially leaked credentials. Replace any credentials that may be compromised. Please consult the associated MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Disable or Modify Tools for further information about this category of attack. Patches To fix this issue, upgrade to a patched version. The updated Fleet deployer filters out labels with the pod-security.kubernetes.io/ prefix when applying namespaceLabels to a namespace. This change preserves the PSS labels set by cluster administrators and prevents them from being overwritten through fleet.yaml or BundleDeployment options. Patched versions of Fleet include releases v0.15.2, v0.14.6, v0.13.11, and v0.12.15. Workarounds If you can’t immediately upgrade to a patched version, use one of the following workarounds: 1 - Deploy NeuVector(primary workaround) Deploy NeuVector (SUSE Security) and configure an admission control Deny rule for "Run as privileged" in Protect mode. NeuVector evaluates pod specs independently of Kubernetes PSS namespace labels. It blocks privileged containers even if the labels are downgraded. Although the namespace labels are still overwritten, the attack cannot exploit confidentiality, integrity, or availability without a privileged pod. 2 - Restrict repository access (secondary workaround) Note: The following measure reduces the attack surface but does not close the vulnerability: In a multi-tenant setup, this restriction removes the primary attack vector. However, this measure only reduces the attack surface and doesn't completely close the vulnerability. It may also not be operationally viable for all organizations. ´ Credits This security issue was reported by the following collaborators according to our responsible disclosure policy: Radisauskas Arnoldas from NATO and the NATO Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). References 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.
CVE-2026-44938 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High). 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 (0.15.2, 0.14.6, 0.13.11, 0.12.15). Upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
go
github.com/rancher/fleet (>= 0.15.0, < 0.15.2)github.com/rancher/fleet (>= 0.14.0, < 0.14.6)github.com/rancher/fleet (>= 0.13.0, < 0.13.11)github.com/rancher/fleet (>= 0.12.0, < 0.12.15)github.com/rancher/fleet → 0.15.2 (go)github.com/rancher/fleet → 0.14.6 (go)github.com/rancher/fleet → 0.13.11 (go)github.com/rancher/fleet → 0.12.15 (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-2026-44938 in your environment →Upgrade the following packages to resolve this vulnerability:
github.com/rancher/fleet to 0.15.2 or latergithub.com/rancher/fleet to 0.14.6 or latergithub.com/rancher/fleet to 0.13.11 or latergithub.com/rancher/fleet to 0.12.15 or laterKodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
CVE-2026-44938 is a high-severity security vulnerability in github.com/rancher/fleet (go), affecting versions >= 0.15.0, < 0.15.2. It is fixed in 0.15.2, 0.14.6, 0.13.11, 0.12.15.
CVE-2026-44938 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (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/fleet (go) versions >= 0.15.0, < 0.15.2 is affected.
Yes. CVE-2026-44938 is fixed in 0.15.2, 0.14.6, 0.13.11, 0.12.15. Upgrade to this version or later.
Whether CVE-2026-44938 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/fleet to 0.15.2 or latergithub.com/rancher/fleet to 0.14.6 or latergithub.com/rancher/fleet to 0.13.11 or latergithub.com/rancher/fleet to 0.12.15 or later