CVE-2023-3676Public exploitNetwork attack vector

SYSTEM command execution via PowerShell subPath injection

Published Oct 31, 2023 · Updated Feb 27, 2025

Command injection in Kubernetes Kubelet allows remote authenticated users to execute commands as SYSTEM on vulnerable Windows nodes. The Windows subpath symlink checks interpolate a pod-controlled volumeMounts.subPath into a PowerShell command, allowing $() subexpressions to run. The user must be able to create a pod on a Windows node; the injected command runs in the host's Kubelet context rather than inside the container.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability13.16%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Command injection in Kubernetes Kubelet allows remote authenticated users to execute commands as SYSTEM on vulnerable Windows nodes. The Windows subpath symlink checks interpolate a pod-controlled volumeMounts.subPath into a PowerShell command, allowing $() subexpressions to run. The user must be able to create a pod on a Windows node; the injected command runs in the host's Kubelet context rather than inside the container.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-3676
Published
Oct 31, 2023
Updated
Feb 27, 2025
Vendor
Kubernetes
Product
Kubelet
Classifications
CWE-20, CAPEC-233, T1068, T1059.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 31, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 27, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <=v1.24.16
  2. Affected versionversion=v1.25.0 <=v1.25.12
  3. Affected versionversion=v1.26.0 <=v1.26.7
  4. Affected versionversion=v1.27.0 <=v1.27.4
  5. Affected versionversion=v1.28.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Kubernetes · Kubeletversion=0 <=v1.24.16; version=v1.25.0 <=v1.25.12; version=v1.26.0 <=v1.26.7; version=v1.27.0 <=v1.27.4; version=v1.28.0

Published CVSS scores

8.8KubernetesCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
CAPEC-233Privilege Escalation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1059.001PowerShell

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo