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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2023-3955

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2023-10-31
  • Fixed in1.28.1 · 1.27.5 · 1.26.8 · 1.25.13 · 1.24.17
  • WeaknessCWE-20

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

A security issue was discovered in Kubernetes where a user that can create pods on Windows nodes may be able to escalate to admin privileges on those nodes. Kubernetes clusters are only affected if they include Windows nodes.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-10-3121:15CVE publishedNVD

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV · CISA-ADP
Kubernetesversion to verify
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.28≥ 1.28.0, < 1.28.11.28.1
1.27≥ 1.27.0, < 1.27.51.27.5
1.26≥ 1.26.0, < 1.26.81.26.8
1.25≥ 1.25.0, < 1.25.131.25.13
1.24< 1.24.171.24.17
Kubernetes kubelet
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.28= 1.28.0no fix published
1.27≥ 1.27.0, ≤ 1.27.4no fix published
1.26≥ 1.26.0, ≤ 1.26.7no fix published
1.25≥ 1.25.0, ≤ 1.25.12no fix published
1.24≤ 1.24.16no fix published
k8s.io/mount-utils
BranchAffectedFixed in
0.28≥ 0.28.0, < 0.28.10.28.1
0.27≥ 0.27.0, < 0.27.50.27.5
0.26≥ 0.26.0, < 0.26.80.26.8
0.25≥ 0.25.0, < 0.25.130.25.13
0.24< 0.24.170.24.17

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As kubernetes, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • Kubernetes kubeletother versions: not affected

    https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes

    Affected
    • = v1.28.0no fix stated
    • ≥ v1.27.0, ≤ v1.27.4no fix statedsemver
    • ≥ v1.26.0, ≤ v1.26.7no fix statedsemver
    • ≥ v1.25.0, ≤ v1.25.12no fix statedsemver
    • ≤ v1.24.16no fix statedsemver

    Not affected = v1.28.1 · = v1.27.5 · = v1.26.8

    2 more version lines in the CVE record.

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2023-12-21

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • aws-efs-csi-driverWolfiall versions · fixed in 1.7.0-r6
  • aws-efs-csi-driverChainguardall versions · fixed in 1.7.0-r6
  • aws-efs-csi-driver-fipsChainguardall versions · fixed in 1.7.0-r5
  • flux-notification-controller-fipsCleanStartall versions · fixed in 1.9.2-r0
  • govulncheck-vulndbopenSUSE:Tumbleweedall versions · fixed in 0.0.20241213T205935-1.1
  • kubeflow-pipelines-apiserverWolfiall versions · fixed in 2.14.3-r3
  • kubeflow-pipelines-apiserverChainguardall versions · fixed in 2.14.3-r3
  • kubernetesDebian:14all versions · fixed in 1.20.5+really1.20.2-1

10 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2023-3955 Red Hat Product Security7 products fixed

    kubernetes: Insufficient input sanitization on Windows nodes leads to privilege escalation

  • RHSA-2023:7515 Red Hat Product Security3 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenShift for Windows Containers 9.0.0 security update

  • RHSA-2023:4885 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenShift support for Windows Containers 8.0.2 security update

  • RHSA-2023:4835 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenShift support for Windows Containers 5.1.2 security update

  • RHSA-2023:4780 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenShift support for Windows Containers 6.0.2 security update

  • RHSA-2023:4777 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenShift support for Windows Containers 7.1.1 security update

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Kubernetes to 1.28.1 · 1.27.5 · 1.26.8 · 1.25.13 · 1.24.17
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:7515 · 3 productsBefore applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied. For details on how to apply this update, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:4885 · 1 productFor Windows Machine Config Operator upgrades, see the following documentation: https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/latest/windows_containers/windows-node-upgrades.html
  4. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:4835 · 1 productFor Windows Machine Config Operator upgrades, see the following documentation: https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/latest/windows_containers/windows-node-upgrades.html
  5. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2023:4777 · 1 productBefore applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied. For details on how to apply this update, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2024-10-15
  • CNACVSS 3.18.8known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.18.8read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-20known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-20read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score3.8 %2026-11-08
  • OSVaffected packages—
  • GitHub AdvisoriesadvisoryHIGH2023-11-01

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2023-10-31
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-q78c-gwqw-jcmc

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-3955?

A security issue was discovered in Kubernetes where a user that can create pods on Windows nodes may be able to escalate to admin privileges on those nodes. Kubernetes clusters are only affected if they include Windows nodes.

Is CVE-2023-3955 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2023-3955 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 3.8% on 2026-11-08, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-3955?

CVE-2023-3955 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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