CVE-2024-9486 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Hard-coded Credentials vulnerability in github.com/kubernetes-sigs/image-builder. A fix is available for github.com/kubernetes-sigs/image-builder — see the affected versions and patch details below.
VM images built with Image Builder and Proxmox provider use default credentials
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-2024-9486.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2024-9486 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/kubernetes-sigs/image-builderReal-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 the Kubernetes Image Builder versions <= v0.1.37 where default credentials are enabled during the image build process. Virtual machine images built using the Proxmox provider do not disable these default credentials, and nodes using the resulting images may be accessible via these default credentials. The credentials can be used to gain root access. Kubernetes clusters are only affected if their nodes use VM images created via the Image Builder project with its Proxmox provider.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/kubernetes-sigs/image-builder | all versions | 0.1.38go get github.com/kubernetes-sigs/image-builder@v0.1.38 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/kubernetes-sigs/image-builder, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/kubernetes-sigs/image-builder to 0.1.38 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-9486 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2024-9486 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-9486. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-9486 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-9486 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.