CVE-2024-5042 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.6) CWE-250 vulnerability in github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator. A fix is available for github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Submariner-operator: rbac permissions can allow for the spread of node compromises
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-5042.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator🐹github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator🐹github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator🐹github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operatorReal-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 flaw was found in the Submariner project. Due to unnecessary role-based access control permissions, a privileged attacker can run a malicious container on a node that may allow them to steal service account tokens and further compromise other nodes and potentially the entire cluster.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator | ≥ 0.16.0-m0&&< 0.16.4 | 0.16.4go get github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator@v0.16.4 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator | ≥ 0.17.0-m0&&< 0.17.2 | 0.17.2go get github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator@v0.17.2 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator | all versions | 0.15.4go get github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator@v0.15.4 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator | ≥ 0.18.0-m0&&< 0.18.0-rc0 | 0.18.0-rc0go get github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator@v0.18.0-rc0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/submariner-io/submariner-operator to 0.16.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-5042 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
For the submariner operator in Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes, the submariner-security outlined potential vulnerabilities regarding RBAC permissions being too broad. Those permissions make it possible to create, patch or update statefulsets or replicasets resources. This may allow new privileged…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| RHODF-4.16-RHEL-9 | odf4/odf-multicluster-rhel9-operator:v4.16.0-19 | RHSA-2024:4591 |
| Red Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.20 | odf4/cephcsi-rhel9:1774540992 | RHSA-2026:6503 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-5042 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.