dbcve.org
Improper Access ControlWeakness · CWE-284

CVE-2025-23389

HIGH · 8.4 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 →
90/100
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
A Improper Access Control vulnerability in SUSE rancher allows a local user to impersonate other identities through SAML Authentication on first login. 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

SUSE Rancher contains an improper access control vulnerability in its SAML authentication implementation. When a local user authenticates via SAML for the first time, the system fails to properly validate or bind the identity, allowing the authenticated user to impersonate other Rancher users by manipulating the SAML response during the initial login flow.

MitigationUpgrade Rancher to version 2.8.13, 2.9.7, or 2.10.3 or later to resolve the improper access control in SAML authentication. Verify SAML configuration and test user impersonation prevention after upgrading.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L

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. Identify Rancher version
    Run 'kubectl get deployment rancher -n cattle-system -o jsonpath="{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}"' or check the Rancher UI under the gear icon > About Rancher
    Affected if Version is 2.8.0-2.8.12, 2.9.0-2.9.6, or 2.10.0-2.10.2 (before fixed releases)
  2. Confirm SAML authentication provider is configured
    Check Rancher UI under Authentication > SAML providers, or inspect ConfigMaps in cattle-system namespace for SAML-related configs (kubectl get configmap -n cattle-system | grep -i saml)
    Affected if SAML provider is enabled and users are authenticating via SAML
  3. Review user accounts for identity binding anomalies
    List all users via Rancher API (GET /v3/users) or UI, then cross-reference with SAML IdP user IDs in the user metadata; look for users with mismatched or duplicate principal IDs
    Affected if Users exist where the SAML principal does not match the local user binding, indicating improper identity binding occurred
  4. Audit recent authentication events
    Check Rancher logs in cattle-system namespace for SAML login events (kubectl logs -n cattle-system -l app=rancher | grep -i 'saml\|auth.*login'), looking for multiple users authenticating with the same SAML session or unusual first-login patterns
    Affected if Logs show SAML responses with user identifiers that do not correspond to the authenticating IdP principal
  5. Examine user role bindings for escalation
    Run 'kubectl get clusterrolebindings -A | grep -E "(user:|prt:)"' and compare user IDs against the Rancher user list; check for unauthorized privilege grants to users who should not have them
    Affected if Role bindings exist for users whose SAML identity was not properly validated during their first login

You are affected if Rancher version is before 2.8.13/2.9.7/2.10.3 AND SAML authentication is enabled and users have authenticated via SAML for the first time.

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, or 2.10.3 or later to resolve the improper access control in SAML authentication. Verify SAML configuration and test user impersonation prevention after upgrading.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Rancher 2.8.13+, 2.9.7+, or 2.10.3+ (upgrade to the latest stable release in your respective minor branch)

  1. Identify the currently installed rancher version using 'helm list -A' or 'kubectl get nodes'
  2. Backup all rancher data and configurations before proceeding with the upgrade
  3. For Rancher 2.8.x: Upgrade to version 2.8.13 or later
  4. For Rancher 2.9.x: Upgrade to version 2.9.7 or later
  5. For Rancher 2.10.x: Upgrade to version 2.10.3 or later
  6. Use the official SUSE Rancher upgrade documentation for your deployment method (helm upgrade or restore from backup)
  7. After upgrade, verify the SAML authentication configuration is intact and test login functionality
  8. Confirm the upgrade was successful by checking the rancher version in the UI or via API
Caveat Review SUSE Rancher release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and target version before upgrading

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-23389 — 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-2025-23389 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