CriticalCVE-2026-94290

    SUSE Rancher: Execution with Unnecessary Privileges (CVE-2026-94290)

    Published Last modified Sources: CVE.org, BSI, pwn.watch

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    What is affected, what to do

    SUSE Rancher Fleet clusters reference a kubeconfig secret that the controller uses to install and manage a Fleet agent on the target cluster. The controller did not sufficiently restrict which kubeconfig secrets a Fleet Cluster object was allowed to reference.

    Update SUSE Rancher to version 0.16.3, SUSE Rancher to version 0.15.8, SUSE Rancher to version 0.14.12.

    Affected
    • SUSE Rancher lt 0.16.0..0.16.3
    • SUSE Rancher lt 0.15.0..0.15.8
    • SUSE Rancher lt 0.14.0..0.14.12
    • SUSE Rancher lt 0.13.0..0.13.17
    Fixed in
    • SUSE Rancher 0.16.3
    • SUSE Rancher 0.15.8
    • SUSE Rancher 0.14.12
    • SUSE Rancher 0.13.17

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    9.1

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    9.1

    CVSS v3

    Severity Critical on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org, BSI, pwn.watch

    —

    EPSS score

    No value is available for this vulnerability.

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    75.50 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    9.1 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    9.1
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: none known · not automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 2 November 2026
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-250

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    SUSE Rancher Fleet clusters reference a kubeconfig secret that the controller uses to install and manage a Fleet agent on the target cluster. The controller did not sufficiently restrict which kubeconfig secrets a Fleet Cluster object was allowed to reference. As a result, a Fleet cluster defined in a namespace an ordinary user controls could be associated with administrative credentials for the management cluster itself, causing the controller to manage the management cluster on that user's behalf and to run that user's Fleet content there with elevated privileges. This affects SUSE Rancher Fleet 0.16.0 up to 0.16.3, 0.15.0 up to 0.15.8, 0.14.0 up to 0.14.12, 0.13.0 up to 0.13.17 and possible older versions.

    Source: cvelistv5, NVD (NIST), CVE.org (MITRE), BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, pwn.watch

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    SUSERancher
    • 0.14.0 – < 0.14.12
    • 0.13.0 – < 0.13.17
    • 0.15.0 – < 0.15.8
    • 0.16.0 – < 0.16.3
    • 0.14.12
    • 0.13.17
    • 0.15.8
    • 0.16.3
    Open SourceFleet
    • < 0.13.17
    • < 0.14.12
    • < 0.16.3
    • < 0.15.8
    • 0.13.17
    • 0.14.12
    • 0.16.3
    • 0.15.8

    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-250Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

      Base

      The product performs an operation at a privilege level that is higher than the minimum level required, which creates new weaknesses or amplifies the consequences of other weaknesses.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-250

    References & sources

    • pwn.watchpwn.watch: Rancher and Fleet October 2026 security release: any Rancher user could become cluster-admin on the management cluster (CVE-2026-94290)pwn-watch
    • documentation.suse.comSecurity Advisories and CVEs (Rancher Manager v2.15)pwn-watch
    • github.comPrivilege escalation to cluster-admin on the Rancher local cluster through Fleet's agent management controller (GHSA-qfmw-gw96-ffcr)pwn-watch, Vendor advisory
    • github.comCluster identity takeover in Fleet cluster registration (GHSA-gx8v-2929-9q95)pwn-watch
    • github.comAuthorization bypass on the local cluster shell endpoint (GHSA-8x6f-2v58-x6p7)pwn-watch
    • github.comRancher meta proxy allowlist bypass leading to server-side request forgery (GHSA-f9gf-wh3x-jx3v)pwn-watch
    • github.comRancher credentials disclosed to third-party hosts by the Rancher Manager meta proxy (GHSA-x82x-2qj6-5rm2)pwn-watch
    • documentation.suse.comRancher Manager v2.15.3 release notespwn-watch

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: no

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      SSVC assessmentremoved
      {"id":"CVE-2026-94290","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-11-02T16:13:30.631420Z"}
      —
      SSVC assessmentadded
      —
      {"id":"CVE-2026-94290","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-11-02T00:00:00+00:00"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    2. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: no

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      SSVC assessmentadded
      —
      {"id":"CVE-2026-94290","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-11-02T16:13:30.631420Z"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    3. Receivedsuse.de

      CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

      Weakness type: CWE-250

      Description added or changed

      Show 5 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      SUSE Rancher Fleet clusters reference a kubeconfig secret that the controller uses to install and manage a Fleet agent on the target cluster. The controller did not sufficiently restrict which kubeconfig secrets a Fleet Cluster object was allowed to reference. As a result, a Fleet cluster defined in a namespace an ordinary user controls could be associated with administrative credentials for the management cluster itself, causing the controller to manage the management cluster on that user's behalf and to run that user's Fleet content there with elevated privileges. This affects SUSE Rancher Fleet 0.16.0 up to 0.16.3, 0.15.0 up to 0.15.8, 0.14.0 up to 0.14.12, 0.13.0 up to 0.13.17 and possible older versions.
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
      Weakness type (CWE)added
      —
      CWE-250
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/94xxx/CVE-2026-94290.json">CVE-2026-94290</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://github.com/rancher/fleet/security/advisories/GHSA-qfmw-gw96-ffcr

      Source identifier: meissner@suse.de

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