dbcve.org
OpenshiftApplication · Redhat

CVE-2016-3738

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-06-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 3.2 does not properly restrict access to STI builds, which allows remote authenticated users to access the Docker socket and gain privileges via vectors related to build-pod.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 3.2 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where STI (Source-to-Image) builds do not properly restrict access to build-pods. An authenticated remote user can exploit this to access the underlying Docker socket, enabling them to escape container isolation and gain elevated privileges on the platform.

MitigationRestrict build-pod access through OpenShift RBAC policies, review and limit which users/groups can initiate STI builds, and consider disabling direct Docker socket access within build containers. Upgrade to a patched version if available.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
OpenshiftApplication
Affected:= 3.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify OpenShift Enterprise version
    Run 'oc version' or check the installed RPM/package version for OpenShift Enterprise. Compare against the affected version: 3.2
    Affected if The installed version is exactly Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 3.2
  2. Confirm STI builds are enabled
    Check if any STI (Source-to-Image) build configs exist in the cluster: run 'oc get bc --all-namespaces' or review build configurations in the web console
    Affected if STI build configs are present and active in the environment
  3. Identify users with STI build permissions
    Review OpenShift RBAC policies for who can create builds: run 'oc get rolebindings --all-namespaces' and look for roles granting the 'create' verb on 'builds' or 'builds/instantiate' resources
    Affected if Users or groups beyond cluster administrators have permissions to initiate STI builds
  4. Check for unrestricted build-pod access
    Review cluster role bindings and namespace-scoped policies to determine if authenticated users can access build-pod resources. Examine whether the 'system:deployer' and 'system:build' cluster roles are restricted
    Affected if RBAC policies do not restrict access to build-pod resources, allowing authenticated users to interact with build pods
  5. Verify Docker socket exposure in build pods
    Inspect a recent STI build pod template: run 'oc get pod <build-pod-name> -o yaml' and check if the Docker socket (/var/run/docker.sock) is mounted or accessible
    Affected if The Docker socket is mounted or accessible within STI build pods

A user is affected if running OpenShift Enterprise exactly version 3.2 with STI builds enabled and lacking proper restrictions on build-pod access and Docker socket exposure.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict build-pod access through OpenShift RBAC policies, review and limit which users/groups can initiate STI builds, and consider disabling direct Docker socket access within build containers. Upgrade to a patched version if available.

Fix this in Openshift Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3738 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-3738 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data