GHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4 — rancher
HIGHGHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-732 vulnerability in github.com/rancher/rancher. A fix is available for github.com/rancher/rancher — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Rancher does not properly specify ApiGroup when creating Kubernetes RBAC resources
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
GHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4 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 377,166 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/rancher/rancher🐹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
A vulnerability was discovered in Rancher versions 2.0 through the aforementioned fixed versions, where users were granted access to resources regardless of the resource's API group. For example Rancher should have allowed users access to apps.catalog.cattle.io, but instead incorrectly gave access to apps.*. Resource affected include:
Downstream clusters: apiservices clusters clusterrepos persistentvolumes storageclasses
Rancher management cluster apprevisions apps catalogtemplates catalogtemplateversions clusteralertgroups clusteralertrules clustercatalogs clusterloggings clustermonitorgraphs clusterregistrationtokens clusterroletemplatebindings clusterscans etcdbackups nodepools nodes notifiers pipelineexecutions pipelines pipelinesettings podsecuritypolicytemplateprojectbindings projectalertgroups projectalertrules projectcatalogs projectloggings projectmonitorgraphs projectroletemplatebindings projects secrets sourcecodeproviderconfigs
There is not a direct mitigation besides upgrading to the patched Rancher versions.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/rancher/rancher | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.4.16 | 2.4.16go get github.com/rancher/rancher@v2.4.16 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/rancher/rancher | ≥ 2.5.0&&< 2.5.9 | 2.5.9go get github.com/rancher/rancher@v2.5.9 |
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 2.4.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4 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 GHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-f9xf-jq4j-vqw4 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.