CVE-2024-52281 — rancher
HIGHCVE-2024-52281 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.9) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in github.com/rancher/rancher. A fix is available for github.com/rancher/rancher — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Stored Cross-site Scripting vulnerability in Rancher UI
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-2024-52281.
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/rancher/rancherReal-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
Impact
A vulnerability has been identified within Rancher UI that allows a malicious actor to perform a Stored XSS attack through the cluster description field.
Please consult the associated MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Drive-by Compromise for further information about this category of attack.
Patches
The fix introduces new changes in the directives responsible for sanitizing HTML code before rendering.
We replaced the v-tooltip directive with the v-clean-tooltip directive.
Patched versions include releases 2.9.4 and 2.10.0.
Workarounds
There are no workarounds for this issue. Users are recommended to upgrade, as soon as possible, to a version of /Rancher Manager which contains the fixes.
Credits
This issue was identified and reported by Bhavin Makwana from Workday’s Cyber Defence Team.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Reach out to the SUSE Rancher Security team for security related inquiries.
- Open an issue in the Rancher repository.
- Verify with our support matrix and product support lifecycle.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/rancher/rancher | ≥ 2.9.0&&< 2.9.4 | 2.9.4go get github.com/rancher/rancher@v2.9.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/rancher/rancher, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.9.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-52281 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-52281 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.