Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- EPSS is 0.66% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2023
CVE-2023-29018High confidence
OpenFeature Operator vulnerable to Cluster-level Privilege Escalation
open-feature · open-feature-operator
Official source article: GitHub GHSA-CWF6-XJ49-WP83 ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
8.1HighCVSS 3.1
Within 7 days
Fix not verifiedHigh technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs open-feature open-feature-operator and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
The OpenFeature Operator allows users to expose feature flags to applications. Assuming the pre-existence of a vulnerability that allows for arbitrary code execution, an attacker could leverage the lax permissions configured on `open-feature-operator-controller-manager` to escalate the privileges of any SA in the cluster. The increased privileges could be used to modify cluster state, leading to DoS, or read sensitive data, including secrets. Version 0.2.32 mitigates this issue by restricting the resources the `open-feature-operator-controller-manager` can modify.
What
The OpenFeature Operator allows users to expose feature flags to applications. Assuming the pre-existence of a vulnerability that allows for arbitrary code execution, an attacker could leverage the lax permissions configured on `open-feature-operator-controller-manager` to escalate the privileges of any SA in the cluster. The increased privileges could be used to modify cluster state, leading to DoS, or read sensitive data, including secrets. Version 0.2.32 mitigates this issue by restricting the resources the `open-feature-operator-controller-manager` can modify.
Why
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.
What
The OpenFeature Operator allows users to expose feature flags to applications. Assuming the pre-existence of a vulnerability that allows for arbitrary code execution, an attacker could leverage the lax permissions configured on `open-feature-operator-controller-manager` to escalate the privileges of any SA in the cluster. The increased privileges could be used to modify cluster state, leading to DoS, or read sensitive data, including secrets. Version 0.2.32 mitigates this issue by restricting the resources the `open-feature-operator-controller-manager` can modify.
Why
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How
An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- a network path → Improper Privilege Management → execute code or commands in the affected security context
- Attack surface
- Network
- Privileges required
- High: elevated access is required
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High: exploitation depends on specific conditions
- Security boundary
- Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-269 ↗
CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACHighAttack complexity: Successful exploitation depends on specific conditions outside the attacker's direct control.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- open-feature-operator: < 0.2.32
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 14 Apr 2023 · Last source change 6 Feb 2025, 18:42 UTC · CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-1275
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.