GHSA-x45c-cvp8-q4fm is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-863 vulnerability in github.com/clastix/capsule. A fix is available for github.com/clastix/capsule — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Capsule vulnerable to privilege escalation by ServiceAccount deployed in a Tenant Namespace
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 GHSA-x45c-cvp8-q4fm.
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-x45c-cvp8-q4fm 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 377,238 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/clastix/capsuleReal-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
Capsule implements a multi-tenant and policy-based environment in a Kubernetes cluster. A ServiceAccount deployed in a Tenant Namespace, when granted with PATCH capabilities on its own Namespace, is able to edit it and remove the Owner Reference, breaking the reconciliation of the Capsule Operator and removing all the enforcement like Pod Security annotations, Network Policies, Limit Range and Resource Quota items.
With that said, an attacker could detach the Namespace from a Tenant that is forbidding starting privileged Pods using the Pod Security labels by removing the OwnerReference, removing the enforcement labels, and being able to start privileged containers that would be able to start a generic Kubernetes privilege escalation.
Patches
Patches have been released for version 0.1.3 and all users must upgrade to this release.
Workarounds
N.A.
References
N.A.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in github.com/clastix/capsule
- Reach out on #capsule channel available on Kubernetes Slack workspace
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/clastix/capsule | all versions | 0.1.3go get github.com/clastix/capsule@v0.1.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/clastix/capsule, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/clastix/capsule to 0.1.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-x45c-cvp8-q4fm 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-x45c-cvp8-q4fm can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-x45c-cvp8-q4fm. 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-x45c-cvp8-q4fm in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-x45c-cvp8-q4fm across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.