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Full vulnerability report · 2025
CVE-2025-5187High confidence

Nodes can delete themselves by adding an OwnerReference

Kubernetes · Kubernetes

6.7MediumCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Scheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityMediumOperational priority:Medium, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • EPSS is 0.57% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Kubernetes Kubernetes and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: As exposure requiresRemediation target: Within 365 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Distribution package intelligence

Release-specific package status

Debian findings are scoped to the named distribution, release and source package. An absent finding does not mean a package is unaffected.

4 package states
Repository candidate not checked

A published vendor fix does not prove that a matching update is enabled and installable on a particular asset. Confirm the local package candidate before scheduling remediation.

Distribution releaseSource packageVendor stateFixed versionEvidence
Debian trixietrixie · sourcekubernetesVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.1.20.5+really1.20.2-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Debian bookwormbookworm · sourcekubernetesVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.1.20.5+really1.20.2-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Debian forkyforky · sourcekubernetesVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.1.20.5+really1.20.2-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Debian sidsid · sourcekubernetesVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.1.20.5+really1.20.2-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Open-source package ranges6 source-attributed ranges

These OSV and GitHub advisory ranges apply only to the named package and ecosystem. A listed fixed version is not a universal product patch or proof that an update is installed.

Ecosystem and packageAffected rangeFirst fixed versionEvidence
Gok8s.io/kubernetesSEMVER: introduced 0; fixed 1.31.121.31.12OSV record ↗aggregator derived · 10 Sep 2026
Gok8s.io/kubernetesSEMVER: introduced 1.32.0-alpha.0; fixed 1.32.81.32.8OSV record ↗aggregator derived · 10 Sep 2026
Gok8s.io/kubernetesSEMVER: introduced 1.33.0-alpha.0; fixed 1.33.41.33.4OSV record ↗aggregator derived · 10 Sep 2026
gok8s.io/kubernetes< 1.31.121.31.12GitHub advisory ↗github reviewed aggregator · 27 Aug 2025
gok8s.io/kubernetes>= 1.32.0-alpha.0, < 1.32.71.32.8GitHub advisory ↗github reviewed aggregator · 27 Aug 2025
gok8s.io/kubernetes>= 1.33.0-alpha.0, < 1.33.41.33.4GitHub advisory ↗github reviewed aggregator · 27 Aug 2025
Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
CVE-2025-5187 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · finalRed Hat Product Securitykubernetes: kube-apiserver: Nodes can delete themselves by adding an OwnerReference
35 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • microshift as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-ai-model-serving as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-ai-model-serving-release-info as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-cert-manager as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-cert-manager-release-info as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-gateway-api as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-gateway-api-release-info as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-greenboot as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-low-latency as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-multus as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-multus-release-info as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • microshift-networking as a component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Summary
A vulnerability was found in the kube-apiserver's NodeRestriction admission controller, where node users can delete their corresponding node object by setting their own OwnerReference to a cluster-scoped resource. This flaw allows an attacker to delete and recreate its node object, leading to the node being recreated with modified taints or labels, which should not be allowed in this context. This may let the attacker control which pods are running on the compromised node.
Remediation
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update: https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html/release_notes/ You can download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests can be found at https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags. The sha values for the release are as follows: (For x86_64 architecture) The image digest is sha256:2db093f063ad5310fa4e5ed2d2eda4bad5215c47092b72d1cfafbcfdbf1f4dd2 (For s390x architecture) The image digest is sha256:578636cf6c118e3f27e73e2d44895dd5dd619c50b8f1f3a32e08b1df628f9dcb (For ppc64le architecture) The image digest is sha256:6d3380150dd6b9fe1044503a96bf42199b271e7758466649c4b6fb08ff25c559 (For aarch64 architecture) The image digest is sha256:63d620c118a8bfb4b9d4344715a648327dcdcbd5d66488ae8c0f25cf63d98671 All OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc) or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2025-25937

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionScheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

A vulnerability exists in the NodeRestriction admission controller in Kubernetes clusters where node users can delete their corresponding node object by patching themselves with an OwnerReference to a cluster-scoped resource. If the OwnerReference resource does not exist or is subsequently deleted, the given node object will be deleted via garbage collection.

What

A vulnerability exists in the NodeRestriction admission controller in Kubernetes clusters where node users can delete their corresponding node object by patching themselves with an OwnerReference to a cluster-scoped resource. If the OwnerReference resource does not exist or is subsequently deleted, the given node object will be deleted via garbage collection.

Why

The application performs an authorisation check, but it does not correctly enforce the required permission boundary.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

A vulnerability exists in the NodeRestriction admission controller in Kubernetes clusters where node users can delete their corresponding node object by patching themselves with an OwnerReference to a cluster-scoped resource. If the OwnerReference resource does not exist or is subsequently deleted, the given node object will be deleted via garbage collection.

Why

The application performs an authorisation check, but it does not correctly enforce the required permission boundary.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

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
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

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 → Incorrect Authorization → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
High: elevated access is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-863 ↗

CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization. The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.

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:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L

Common 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.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ALowAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkCWE-863
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

BSI · German · WID-SEC-2025-1831Kubernetes: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Manipulation von Dateien

Ein entfernter, authentisierter Angreifer kann eine Schwachstelle in Kubernetes ausnutzen, um Dateien zu manipulieren.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20250903Security Bulletin 03 Sep 2025

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 03 Sep 2025, published on 3 September 2025. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2026-AVI-0667Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits IBM

d?id=CVE-2025-13333 Référence CVE CVE-2025-13465 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-13465 Référence CVE CVE-2025-14009 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-14009 Référence CVE CVE-2025-14813 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-14813 Référence CVE CVE-2025-15284 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-15284 Référence CVE CVE-2025-22870 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-22870 Référence CVE CVE-2025-40252 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-40252 Référence CVE CVE-2025-41248 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-41248 Référence CVE CVE-2025-41249 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-41249 Référence CVE CVE-2025-5187 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5187 Référence CVE CVE-2025-53643 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-53643 Référence CVE CVE-2025-58754 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-58754 Référence CVE CVE-2025-59471 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-59471 Référence CVE CVE-2025-59472 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-59472 Référence CVE CVE-2025-6176 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-6176 Référence CVE CVE-2025-62718 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-62718 Référence CVE CVE-2025-64718 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-64718 Référence CVE CVE-2025-64756 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2026-AVI-0249Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits IBM

d?id=CVE-2025-47913 Référence CVE CVE-2025-47935 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-47935 Référence CVE CVE-2025-47944 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-47944 Référence CVE CVE-2025-48068 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-48068 Référence CVE CVE-2025-48387 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-48387 Référence CVE CVE-2025-48997 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-48997 Référence CVE CVE-2025-49128 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-49128 Référence CVE CVE-2025-50106 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-50106 Référence CVE CVE-2025-50537 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-50537 Référence CVE CVE-2025-5187 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5187 Référence CVE CVE-2025-5222 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5222 Référence CVE CVE-2025-52565 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-52565 Référence CVE CVE-2025-52881 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-52881 Référence CVE CVE-2025-53057 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-53057 Référence CVE CVE-2025-53066 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-53066 Référence CVE CVE-2025-53547 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-53547 Référence CVE CVE-2025-54410 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-54410 Référence CVE CVE-2025-55163 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2025-AVI-1131Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits IBM

rd?id=CVE-2025-4447 Référence CVE CVE-2025-46653 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-46653 Référence CVE CVE-2025-47273 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-47273 Référence CVE CVE-2025-47287 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-47287 Référence CVE CVE-2025-47906 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-47906 Référence CVE CVE-2025-47907 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-47907 Référence CVE CVE-2025-47913 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-47913 Référence CVE CVE-2025-48734 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-48734 Référence CVE CVE-2025-50059 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-50059 Référence CVE CVE-2025-5187 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5187 Référence CVE CVE-2025-53057 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-53057 Référence CVE CVE-2025-53066 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-53066 Référence CVE CVE-2025-5372 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5372 Référence CVE CVE-2025-55182 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-55182 Référence CVE CVE-2025-55198 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-55198 Référence CVE CVE-2025-55199 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-55199 Référence CVE CVE-2025-58057 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-58057 Référence CVE CVE-2025-58187 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE

Official advisory ↗
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.
Patch available
Affected
Fixed
Action
For OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update: https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html/release_notes/ You can download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests can be found at https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags. The sha values for the release are as follows: (For x86_64 architecture) The image digest is sha256:2db093f063ad5310fa4e5ed2d2eda4bad5215c47092b72d1cfafbcfdbf1f4dd2 (For s390x architecture) The image digest is sha256:578636cf6c118e3f27e73e2d44895dd5dd619c50b8f1f3a32e08b1df628f9dcb (For ppc64le architecture) The image digest is sha256:6d3380150dd6b9fe1044503a96bf42199b271e7758466649c4b6fb08ff25c559 (For aarch64 architecture) The image digest is sha256:63d620c118a8bfb4b9d4344715a648327dcdcbd5d66488ae8c0f25cf63d98671 All OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc) or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
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 27 Aug 2025 · Last source change 26 Feb 2026, 17:47 UTC · CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2025-25937
Product sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Red Hat Product Security
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD not scheduled

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    v1.31.0 ≤ v1.31.11; v1.32.0 ≤ v1.32.7; v1.33.0 ≤ v1.33.3 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    v1.31.0 ≤ v1.31.11; v1.32.0 ≤ v1.32.7; v1.33.0 ≤ v1.33.3 · Fixed: For OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 see the following documentation, which will be updated shortly for this release, for important instructions on how to upgrade your cluster and fully apply this asynchronous errata update: https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html/release_notes/ You can download the oc tool and use it to inspect release image metadata for x86_64, s390x, ppc64le, and aarch64 architectures. The image digests can be found at https://quay.io/repository/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release?tab=tags. The sha values for the release are as follows: (For x86_64 architecture) The image digest is sha256:2db093f063ad5310fa4e5ed2d2eda4bad5215c47092b72d1cfafbcfdbf1f4dd2 (For s390x architecture) The image digest is sha256:578636cf6c118e3f27e73e2d44895dd5dd619c50b8f1f3a32e08b1df628f9dcb (For ppc64le architecture) The image digest is sha256:6d3380150dd6b9fe1044503a96bf42199b271e7758466649c4b6fb08ff25c559 (For aarch64 architecture) The image digest is sha256:63d620c118a8bfb4b9d4344715a648327dcdcbd5d66488ae8c0f25cf63d98671 All OpenShift Container Platform 4.18 users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages and images when they are available in the appropriate release channel. To check for available updates, use the OpenShift CLI (oc) or web console. Instructions for upgrading a cluster are available at https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.18/html-single/updating_clusters/index#updating-cluster-cli.
    Red Hat Product Security ↗
  2. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Patch available.
    Before
    Awaiting fix
    After
    Patch available
    Red Hat Product Security ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Fixed release recorded from official guidance
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2025-25937↗Red Hat Product Security security advisory↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
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.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2025-5187 · cve.blacktree.nl