GHSA-q8m4-xhhv-38mg
etcd: Authorization bypasses in multiple APIs
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.
Blast Radius
go.etcd.io/etcd/v3🐹go.etcd.io/etcd/v3🐹go.etcd.io/etcd/v3🐹go.etcd.io/etcdReal-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
What kind of vulnerability is it? Who is impacted?
Multiple vulnerabilities allow unauthorized users to bypass authentication or authorization checks and call certain etcd functions in clusters that expose the gRPC API to untrusted or partially trusted clients.
In unpatched etcd clusters with etcd auth enabled, unauthorized users are able to:
- call MemberList and learn cluster topology, including member IDs and advertised endpoints
- call Alarm, which can be abused for operational disruption or denial of service
- use Lease APIs, interfering with TTL-based keys and lease ownership
- trigger compaction, permanently removing historical revisions and disrupting watch, audit, and recovery workflows
Kubernetes does not rely on etcd’s built-in authentication and authorization. Instead, the API server handles authentication and authorization itself, so typical Kubernetes deployments are not affected.
Patches
Has the problem been patched? What versions should users upgrade to?
These vulnerabilities are patched in the following versions:
- etcd 3.6.9
- etcd 3.5.28
- etcd 3.4.42
Workarounds
Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?
If upgrading is not immediately possible, reduce exposure by treating the affected RPCs as unauthenticated in practice.
- restrict network access to etcd server ports so only trusted components can connect
- require strong client identity at the transport layer, such as mTLS with tightly scoped client certificate distribution
Reporters
Community efforts help keep etcd secure
The etcd community thanks Isaac David, bugbunny.ai, Asim Viladi Oglu Manizada, Alex Schapiro & Ahmed Allam from Strix security, Luke Francis, and @OLU-DEVX for reporting these vulnerabilities.
Dependency Between Reported Issues
These issues all originate from the same underlying flaw in the gRPC API layer.
They affect the same API surface and share a common root cause. In practice, the fix is implemented as a single, unified change at the API layer, which resolves all issues together.
Given this, we believe these issues are best treated as a single vulnerability and should be assigned a single CVE.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 | ≥ 3.6.0-alpha.0&&< 3.6.9 | 3.6.9 |
| 🐹Go | go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 | ≥ 3.5.0-alpha.0&&< 3.5.28 | 3.5.28 |
| 🐹Go | go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 | all versions | 3.4.42 |
| 🐹Go | go.etcd.io/etcd | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for go.etcd.io/etcd/v3. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update go.etcd.io/etcd/v3 to 3.6.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-q8m4-xhhv-38mg 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-q8m4-xhhv-38mg is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-q8m4-xhhv-38mg. 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-q8m4-xhhv-38mg in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-q8m4-xhhv-38mg across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.