How severe is CVE-2021-25318?

CVE-2021-25318 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-25318?

CVE-2021-25318 affects the following packages: github.com/rancher/rancher (Go), github.com/rancher/rancher (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2021-25318?

Update github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.4.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-25318 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-25318 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/rancher/rancher. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-25318 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2021-25318?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-25318 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2021-25318 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-25318 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-25318?

CVE-2021-25318 is classified as CWE-732 (CWE-732). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2021-25318 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-25318 was published on July 15, 2021 and was last updated on July 10, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹 Go

CVE-2021-25318

HIGH

CVE-2021-25318 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-732 vulnerability in github.com/rancher/rancher. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2021-25318 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

Rancher does not properly specify ApiGroup when creating Kubernetes RBAC resources

Also known asGHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4GO-2024-2768

Published

Jul 15, 2021

Updated

Jul 10, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Blast Radius

2 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/rancher/rancher🐹github.com/rancher/rancher

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

A Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource vulnerability in Rancher allows users in the cluster to modify resources they should not have access to. This issue affects: Rancher versions prior to 2.5.9 ; Rancher versions prior to 2.4.16.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/rancher/rancher`	≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.4.16	2.4.16
🐹Go	`github.com/rancher/rancher`	≥ 2.5.0&&< 2.5.9	2.5.9

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/rancher/rancher. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.4.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-25318 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-25318 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2021-25318. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-25318 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2021-25318 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works