CVE-2021-36783: Rancher: Failure to properly sanitize credentials in cluster template answers

Published Sep 7, 2022
·
Updated

Impact

It was discovered that in Rancher versions up to and including 2.5.12 and 2.6.3 there is a failure to properly sanitize credentials in cluster template answers. This failure can lead to plaintext storage and exposure of credentials, passwords and API tokens.

The exposed credentials are visible in Rancher to authenticated Cluster Owners, Cluster Members, Project Owners and Project Members on the endpoints /v1/management.cattle.io.clusters, /v3/clusters and /k8s/clusters/local/apis/management.cattle.io/v3/clusters.

Sensitive fields are now stripped from Clusters objects before the object is stored. For objects that existed before this security fix, a one-time migration happens on startup.

Important: - It is highly advised to review for potential leaked credentials in this scenario, and to change them if deemed necessary. - The final impact severity for confidentiality, integrity and availability is dependent on the permissions that the leaked credentials have on their own services.

Patches Patched versions include releases 2.5.13, 2.6.4 and later versions.

Workarounds Limit access in Rancher to trusted users. There is not a direct mitigation besides upgrading to the patched Rancher versions.

Important: It is highly advised to review for potential leaked credentials in this scenario, and to change them if deemed necessary.

For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: Reach out to SUSE Rancher Security team for security related inquiries. Open an issue in Rancher repository. Verify our support matrix and product support lifecycle.

Other sources

A Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerability in SUSE Rancher allows authenticated Cluster Owners, Cluster Members, Project Owners and Project Members to read credentials, passwords and API tokens that have been stored in cleartext and exposed via API endpoints. This issue affects: SUSE Rancher Rancher versions prior to 2.6.4; Rancher versions prior to 2.5.13.

Affected Software

4 affected componentsFixes available
SUSE rancher>=2.5.0<2.5.13
SUSE rancher>=2.6.0<2.6.4
go/github.com/rancher/rancher>=2.6.0<=2.6.3
2.6.4
go/github.com/rancher/rancher>=2.5.0<=2.5.12
2.5.13

Event History

Sep 7, 2022
CVE Published
via MITRE·08:20 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·08:20 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·09:15 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Mar 3, 2026
Advisory Published
via GitHub·02:49 PM
Data Sourced
via GitHub·02:49 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2021-36783?

CVE-2021-36783 is a vulnerability in SUSE Rancher that allows authenticated users to read credentials, passwords, and API tokens stored in cleartext.

2

Who is affected by CVE-2021-36783?

Authenticated Cluster Owners, Cluster Members, Project Owners, and Project Members are affected by CVE-2021-36783.

3

How severe is CVE-2021-36783?

CVE-2021-36783 has a severity rating of 9.9 out of 10.

4

How can I fix CVE-2021-36783?

To fix CVE-2021-36783, update SUSE Rancher to version 2.5.14 or 2.6.5 or later.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2021-36783?

You can find more information about CVE-2021-36783 at the following references: - [Bugzilla](https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1193990) - [GitHub Security Advisory](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/security/advisories/GHSA-8w87-58w6-hfv8)

Contact

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