CVE-2023-3955Network attack vector

Node-admin escalation via PowerShell argument injection

Published Oct 31, 2023 · Updated Feb 13, 2025

Improper input validation in Kubernetes Kubelet 1.28.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to gain Windows node admin privileges. Windows volume helpers interpolate mount paths, disk identifiers, file-system values, and format options into PowerShell command strings. Exploitation requires permission to create a pod on a Windows node and permits injected PowerShell to execute with node privileges.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability3.10%
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 Kubelet 1.28.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to gain Windows node admin privileges. Windows volume helpers interpolate mount paths, disk identifiers, file-system values, and format options into PowerShell command strings. Exploitation requires permission to create a pod on a Windows node and permits injected PowerShell to execute with node privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-3955
Published
Oct 31, 2023
Updated
Feb 13, 2025
Vendor
Kubernetes
Product
Kubelet
Classifications
CWE-20, 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 13, 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 <=1.24.16
  2. Affected versionversion=0 <=v1.24.16
  3. Affected versionversion=1.25.0 <=1.25.12
  4. Affected versionversion=1.26.0 <=1.26.7
  5. Affected versionversion=1.27.0 <=1.27.4
  6. Affected versionversion=1.28.0
  7. Affected versionversion=v1.25.0 <=v1.25.12
  8. Affected versionversion=v1.26.0 <=v1.26.7
  9. Affected versionversion=v1.27.0 <=v1.27.4
  10. Affected versionversion=v1.28.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Kubernetes · Kubeletversion=0 <=1.24.16; version=0 <=v1.24.16; version=1.25.0 <=1.25.12; version=1.26.0 <=1.26.7; version=1.27.0 <=1.27.4; version=1.28.0; 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

8.8NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 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
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1059.001Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell

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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