CVE-2026-44543Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Privileged pod creation via unvalidated HelperPod template

Published May 28, 2026 · Updated May 28, 2026

Privilege escalation in Rancher Local Path Provisioner before 0.0.36 allows remote authenticated users to create privileged pods. The provisioner loads helperPod.yaml from the editable local-path-config ConfigMap without rejecting privileged contexts, hostPath volumes, or Linux capabilities, then creates HelperPods from it. ConfigMap edit permission and a PVC provisioning or cleanup operation are required; the crafted pod can mount the host root to read or modify node and tenant data.

CVSS severity8.7
High
EPSS probability0.41%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Rancher Local Path Provisioner before 0.0.36 allows remote authenticated users to create privileged pods. The provisioner loads helperPod.yaml from the editable local-path-config ConfigMap without rejecting privileged contexts, hostPath volumes, or Linux capabilities, then creates HelperPods from it. ConfigMap edit permission and a PVC provisioning or cleanup operation are required; the crafted pod can mount the host root to read or modify node and tenant data.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-44543
Published
May 28, 2026
Updated
May 28, 2026
Vendor
Rancher
Product
Local Path Provisioner
Classifications
CWE-269, T1611
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 28, 2026Record 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=< 0.0.36

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Rancher · Local Path Provisionerversion=< 0.0.36

Published CVSS scores

8.7GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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.

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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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1611Escape to Host

Public exploit references

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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