CVE-2026-44945Network attack vector

Authenticated administrative takeover via cross-cluster impersonation

Published Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Privilege escalation in SUSE Rancher allows remote authenticated users to gain administrative control through cross-cluster impersonation. ImpersonationMiddleware authorizes the request with a SubjectAccessReview against a downstream cluster selected from the URL, then the Norman proxy forwards attacker-supplied impersonation headers to the local management API. A default user-role account and RBAC control of any registered downstream cluster are sufficient to read Rancher secrets, alter global role bindings, and administer every managed cluster.

CVSS severity9.1
Critical
EPSS probability0.38%
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

Privilege escalation in SUSE Rancher allows remote authenticated users to gain administrative control through cross-cluster impersonation. ImpersonationMiddleware authorizes the request with a SubjectAccessReview against a downstream cluster selected from the URL, then the Norman proxy forwards attacker-supplied impersonation headers to the local management API. A default user-role account and RBAC control of any registered downstream cluster are sufficient to read Rancher secrets, alter global role bindings, and administer every managed cluster.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-44945
Published
Aug 5, 2026
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
NeuVector
Product
Rancher
Classifications
CWE-497, CWE-441, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 5, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 2026Record 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=2.11.0 <2.11.16 changes=[{"at":"2.11.16","status":"unaffected"}]
  2. Affected versionversion=2.12.0 <2.12.12 changes=[{"at":"2.12.12","status":"unaffected"}]
  3. Affected versionversion=2.13.0 <2.13.8 changes=[{"at":"2.13.8","status":"unaffected"}]
  4. Affected versionversion=2.14.0 <2.14.2 changes=[{"at":"2.14.4","status":"unaffected"}]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

NeuVector · Rancherversion=2.11.0 <2.11.16 changes=[{"at":"2.11.16","status":"unaffected"}]; version=2.12.0 <2.12.12 changes=[{"at":"2.12.12","status":"unaffected"}]; version=2.13.0 <2.13.8 changes=[{"at":"2.13.8","status":"unaffected"}]; version=2.14.0 <2.14.2 changes=[{"at":"2.14.4","status":"unaffected"}]

Published CVSS scores

9.1SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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-497Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere
CWE-441Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy')
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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

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