CVE-2024-5321 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability in k8s.io/kubernetes. A fix is available for k8s.io/kubernetes — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Incorrect permissions on Windows containers logs
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-2024-5321.
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
k8s.io/kubernetes🐹k8s.io/kubernetes🐹k8s.io/kubernetes🐹k8s.io/kubernetesReal-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 security issue was discovered in Kubernetes clusters with Windows nodes where BUILTIN\Users may be able to read container logs and NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users may be able to modify container logs.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | k8s.io/kubernetes | all versions | 1.27.16go get k8s.io/kubernetes@v1.27.16 |
| 🐹Go | k8s.io/kubernetes | ≥ 1.28.0&&< 1.28.12 | 1.28.12go get k8s.io/kubernetes@v1.28.12 |
| 🐹Go | k8s.io/kubernetes | ≥ 1.29.0&&< 1.29.7 | 1.29.7go get k8s.io/kubernetes@v1.29.7 |
| 🐹Go | k8s.io/kubernetes | ≥ 1.30.0&&< 1.30.3 | 1.30.3go get k8s.io/kubernetes@v1.30.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for k8s.io/kubernetes, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update k8s.io/kubernetes to 1.27.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-5321 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.
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.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.12 | openshift4-wincw/windows-machine-config-operator-bundle:v7.2.2-14 | RHSA-2024:6734 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.13 | openshift4-wincw/windows-machine-config-operator-bundle:v8.1.3-14 | RHSA-2024:6461 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 | openshift4-wincw/windows-machine-config-operator-bundle:v9.0.3-12 | RHSA-2024:6460 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 | openshift4-wincw/windows-machine-config-operator-bundle:v10.15.3-12 | RHSA-2024:5745 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.16 | openshift4-wincw/windows-machine-config-operator-bundle:v10.16.1-1 | RHSA-2024:5749 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-5321 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.