CVE-2023-2727Network attack vector

Policy bypass via omitted ephemeral container images

Published Jul 3, 2023 · Updated Feb 13, 2025

Improper input validation in Kubernetes kube-apiserver allows remote authenticated users to launch policy-blocked container images. The ImagePolicyWebhook admission path omits images added through Pod.spec.ephemeralContainers from its ImageReview, so the policy backend does not evaluate them. Exploitation requires high privileges to update the ephemeralcontainers subresource, an enabled ImagePolicyWebhook, and pods using ephemeral containers.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper input validation in Kubernetes kube-apiserver allows remote authenticated users to launch policy-blocked container images. The ImagePolicyWebhook admission path omits images added through Pod.spec.ephemeralContainers from its ImageReview, so the policy backend does not evaluate them. Exploitation requires high privileges to update the ephemeralcontainers subresource, an enabled ImagePolicyWebhook, and pods using ephemeral containers.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-2727
Published
Jul 3, 2023
Updated
Feb 13, 2025
Vendor
Kubernetes
Product
Kubernetes
Classifications
CWE-20, T1610
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 3, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 13, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=v1.24.14 <=<=
  2. Affected versionversion=v1.25.0 - v1.25.10
  3. Affected versionversion=v1.26.0 - v1.26.5
  4. Affected versionversion=v1.27.0 - v1.27.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Kubernetes · Kubernetesversion=v1.24.14 <=<=; version=v1.25.0 - v1.25.10; version=v1.26.0 - v1.26.5; version=v1.27.0 - v1.27.2

Published CVSS scores

6.5KubernetesCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1610Deploy Container

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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