Azure Arc Enabled KubernetesApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2022-37968

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-11
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Microsoft has identified a vulnerability affecting the cluster connect feature of Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters. This vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated user to elevate their privileges and potentially gain administrative control over the Kubernetes cluster. Additionally, because Azure Stack Edge allows customers to deploy Kubernetes workloads on their devices via Azure Arc, Azure Stack Edge devices are also vulnerable to this vulnerability.

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 · high confidence

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes cluster connect feature that allows unauthenticated attackers to gain cluster administrator-level control. The flaw affects both Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters and Azure Stack Edge devices that deploy Kubernetes workloads via Azure Arc.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes and Azure Stack Edge as soon as they become available; review cluster access controls and monitor for suspicious activity until patches are applied.

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
Azure Arc Enabled KubernetesApplication
Affected:= 1.5.8= 1.6.19= 1.7.18= 1.8.11
Azure Stack EdgeWeb browser
Affected:all versions

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes is deployed
    Check if any Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters exist in your Azure subscription by reviewing Azure Resource Manager resources or checking with az connectedk8s list CLI command
    Affected if Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters are present in the environment
  2. Identify the Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes version
    Run 'az connectedk8s show --name <cluster-name> --resource-group <rg>' and check the 'kubernetesVersion' or 'agentVersion' field in the output
    Affected if The displayed version matches 1.5.8, 1.6.19, 1.7.18, or 1.8.11
  3. Confirm cluster connect feature is enabled
    Check the Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes cluster configuration for the 'arcAgent' or 'clusterConnect' service profile status, typically viewable in Azure portal under the cluster's Properties or via az connectedk8s show CLI
    Affected if Cluster connect is enabled and the cluster version is one of the affected versions listed
  4. Check for Azure Stack Edge devices
    Identify Azure Stack Edge devices in your environment by reviewing Azure Resource Manager resources or checking with az arce list CLI command
    Affected if Any Azure Stack Edge device that deploys Kubernetes workloads via Azure Arc is present (all versions affected)

You are affected if you have Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters at versions 1.5.8, 1.6.19, 1.7.18, or 1.8.11 with cluster connect enabled, or any Azure Stack Edge device deploying Kubernetes via Azure Arc.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes and Azure Stack Edge as soon as they become available; review cluster access controls and monitor for suspicious activity until patches are applied.

Fix this in Azure Arc Enabled Kubernetes Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the patch applied

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-37968 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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