MinikubeApplication · Kubernetes
CVE-2023-1944
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability enables ssh access to minikube container using a default password.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability allows unauthorized SSH access to minikube containers by exploiting a default password that is shipped with or configured by minikube. An attacker with network access to the minikube environment could authenticate via SSH and gain shell access to the container, potentially with elevated privileges.
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
MinikubeApplication
<= 1.29.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed minikube versionRun 'minikube version' to obtain the exact version number of minikube installed in your environmentAffected if The version number is equal to or lower than 1.29.0
-
Verify if SSH access is enabledRun 'minikube ssh --help' to check if SSH functionality is available, or inspect the minikube profile configuration using 'minikube profile list' and review any SSH-related flagsAffected if SSH access is enabled or configured in the minikube profile
-
Inspect minikube start flags for SSH configurationRun 'minikube start --help' and review output for SSH-related flags such as '--ssh-key', '--ssh-user', or similar options that may indicate SSH configurationAffected if SSH flags are present in the start command or configuration
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Check for default SSH credentials in useExamine minikube configuration files in the ~/.minikube directory for any hardcoded or default SSH credentials, and verify if the default password shipped with minikube is still in useAffected if Default SSH password shipped with minikube has not been changed, or default credentials are present in configuration files
You are affected if your minikube version is 1.29.0 or lower AND SSH access is enabled with the default password still configured.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
dbcve · scopedImmediately change or disable the default SSH password used by minikube containers, and disable SSH access if not required for the deployment environment.
Minikube > 1.29.0 (recommended: latest stable release)
- 1. Backup any important data and configurations in your minikube cluster
- 2. Stop any running minikube clusters: minikube stop
- 3. Delete the existing minikube instance: minikube delete
- 4. Upgrade minikube to the latest stable version or a version greater than 1.29.0
- 5. Start a new minikube cluster with the updated version: minikube start
- 6. Verify the version using: minikube version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Minikube
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-1944 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-1944 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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