CVE-2023-32186
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 · uneditedA Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in SUSE RKE2 allows attackers with access to K3s servers apiserver/supervisor port (TCP 6443) cause denial of service. This issue affects RKE2: from 1.24.0 before 1.24.17+rke2r1, from v1.25.0 before v1.25.13+rke2r1, from v1.26.0 before v1.26.8+rke2r1, from v1.27.0 before v1.27.5+rke2r1, from v1.28.0 before v1.28.1+rke2r1.
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 confidenceA resource exhaustion vulnerability in SUSE RKE2 allows remote attackers with network access to the Kubernetes API server port (TCP 6443) to cause denial of service by consuming excessive server resources without proper throttling limits.
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>= 1.24.0\+rke2r1, < 1.24.17\+rke2r1>= 1.25.0\+rke2r1, < 1.25.13\+rke2r1>= 1.26.0\+rke2r1, < 1.26.8\+rke2r1>= 1.27.1\+rke2r1, < 1.27.5\+rke2r1= 1.28.1\+rke2r1CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 RKE2 installation and versionRun 'rke2 --version' or 'rke2-server --version' on the node, or check the RPM package with 'rpm -qa | grep rke2'. Alternatively, check the Kubernetes API server version via 'kubectl version --short' which reflects the RKE2 underlying version.Affected if The returned version matches one of these ranges: >= 1.24.0+rke2r1 and < 1.24.17+rke2r1; >= 1.25.0+rke2r1 and < 1.25.13+rke2r1; >= 1.26.0+rke2r1 and < 1.26.8+rke2r1; >= 1.27.0+rke2r1 and < 1.27.5+rke2r1; or exactly 1.28.1+rke2r1.
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Verify API server port exposureCheck if TCP port 6443 is listening and exposed to untrusted networks. Use 'ss -tlnp | grep 6443' or 'netstat -tlnp | grep 6443' to confirm the port is bound, then review firewall rules or network policies to determine if it is accessible from outside the trusted network.Affected if Port 6443 is accessible from untrusted network segments or the internet.
You are affected if your RKE2 version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND the Kubernetes API server port 6443 is network-accessible to remote attackers.
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 · scoped1.24.171.25.131.26.8
Upgrade RKE2 to version 1.24.17+rke2r1, 1.25.13+rke2r1, 1.26.8+rke2r1, 1.27.5+rke2r1, or 1.28.1+rke2r1 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to port 6443 via firewall rules or network policies.
Upgrade to the latest patch version in your minor release line: 1.24.17+rke2r1 or later for 1.24.x, 1.25.13+rke2r1 or later for 1.25.x, 1.26.8+rke2r1 or later for 1.26.x, 1.27.5+rke2r1 or later for 1.27.x, 1.28.1+rke2r1 or later for 1.28.x
- Identify the currently running RKE2 version using `rke2 --version` or checking the systemctl service version
- Plan maintenance window as upgrade requires node restarts
- Takeetcd snapshots or back up critical data before upgrade
- For each RKE2 server node: 1) Drain the node safely using `kubectl drain <node> --ignore-daemonsets --delete-emptydir-data`, 2) Stop the rke2 service: `systemctl stop rke2-server` or `systemctl stop rke2-agent` for agent nodes, 3) Upgrade RKE2 packages via package manager (e.g., `zypper in rke2-server` or `apt-get install rke2-server`), or download and install the new version from the RKE2 release
- Verify upgrade succeeded by checking `rke2 --version` shows the fixed version (1.24.17+rke2r1, 1.25.13+rke2r1, 1.26.8+rke2r1, 1.27.5+rke2r1, or 1.28.1+rke2r1)
- Uncordon nodes if they were drained: `kubectl uncordon <node>`
- Monitor cluster health after upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-32186 — 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-2023-32186 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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