dbcve.org
Stack-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-121

CVE-2025-23388

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
A Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in SUSE rancher allows for denial of service.This issue affects rancher: from 2.8.0 before 2.8.13, from 2.9.0 before 2.9.7, from 2.10.0 before 2.10.3.

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

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in SUSE Rancher that allows attackers to overflow a stack-allocated buffer, leading to denial of service. The vulnerability affects multiple Rancher versions from 2.8.0 through 2.10.x. Successful exploitation can crash the Rancher service, disrupting Kubernetes cluster management capabilities.

MitigationUpgrade Rancher to version 2.8.13, 2.9.7, 2.10.3 or later to apply the security patch. Coordinate maintenance windows as the update may require brief service downtime.

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

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 Rancher is deployed in the environment
    Check for running Rancher components: for Kubernetes-based deployments, run 'kubectl get pods -n cattle-system' and look for rancher pods; for Docker standalone, run 'docker ps' and filter for rancher containers
    Affected if No Rancher deployment found means this CVE does not apply to your environment
  2. Obtain the installed Rancher version
    For Kubernetes: run 'kubectl get rancher -n cattle-system -o jsonpath='{.items[0].status.version}' or check the Rancher UI dashboard footer which displays the version; for Docker: run 'docker exec <container_id> cat /var/lib/rancher/data/version.txt' or query the API at 'https://<rancher-url>/v1'
    Affected if Unable to determine version prevents accurate vulnerability assessment
  3. Compare against affected version ranges
    Check if the installed version falls between 2.8.0 and 2.8.12 inclusive, between 2.9.0 and 2.9.6 inclusive, or between 2.10.0 and 2.10.2 inclusive; versions below 2.8.0 are not affected by this specific CVE
    Affected if Installed version is 2.8.0-2.8.12, 2.9.0-2.9.6, or 2.10.0-2.10.2 indicates the environment is running a vulnerable version that needs patching

Your environment is affected if Rancher is deployed and the installed version is 2.8.0 through 2.8.12, 2.9.0 through 2.9.6, or 2.10.0 through 2.10.2; versions 2.8.13, 2.9.7, 2.10.3 and later include the security patch.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Rancher to version 2.8.13, 2.9.7, 2.10.3 or later to apply the security patch. Coordinate maintenance windows as the update may require brief service downtime.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Rancher 2.8.13 (if on 2.8.x), 2.9.7 (if on 2.9.x), or 2.10.3 (if on 2.10.x)

  1. 1. Identify the current Rancher version by checking the Rancher UI (top-left corner) or running: kubectl get rancher -n cattle-system -o jsonpath='{.items[0].status.rancherVersion}'
  2. 2. Take a backup of the Rancher environment before upgrading. Use the Rancher backup operator or manually export etcd snapshots.
  3. 3. Based on your current version, upgrade to the corresponding fixed release: If on 2.8.x, upgrade to 2.8.13; if on 2.9.x, upgrade to 2.9.7; if on 2.10.x, upgrade to 2.10.3
  4. 4. Apply the upgrade using your Kubernetes provider's upgrade mechanism (e.g., RKE2, K3s, or Helm upgrade for standalone Rancher)
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Rancher UI is accessible and running: kubectl get rancher -n cattle-system to confirm the new version
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - review Rancher release notes for any changes in behavior or deprecations between your version and the target fixed version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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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-2025-23388 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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