CVE-2026-44283
Description
A flaw was found in etcd, a distributed key-value store. An authenticated user, without sufficient read or lease-related permissions, could bypass Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) authorization checks. This bypass occurs during transaction operations involving PrevKv or lease attachment in Put requests, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or lease attachment.
Statement
This flaw in etcd allows an authenticated user without sufficient read or lease-related permissions to bypass RBAC authorization checks when invoking transaction operations that include PrevKv or lease attachment in Put requests. This can lead to unauthorized data disclosure or lease attachment. The flaw is exploitable only when etcd's built-in authentication and RBAC are enabled and an attacker has valid etcd client credentials with direct access to the etcd gRPC API. Typical Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform deployments are not affected under default configuration, as the Kubernetes API server handles authentication and authorization independently of etcd's internal mechanisms.
Mitigation
For OpenShift Container Platform until an update can be applied, reduce exposure by restricting network access to etcd server ports so only trusted control-plane components can connect and require strong client identity at the transport layer, such as mTLS with tightly scoped client certificate distribution; these measures limit direct access to the etcd data store but do not replace applying the security update.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.3 | 4.3 | 0 |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | None |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low | Low | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | None |
| Availability Impact | None | None | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
Access control checks for specific user data or functionality can be bypassed.
Access Control
Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
Horizontal escalation of privilege is possible (one user can view/modify information of another user).
Access Control
Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
Vertical escalation of privilege is possible if the user-controlled key is actually a flag that indicates administrator status, allowing the attacker to gain administrative access.
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