GardenerApplication

CVE-2025-47283

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.116.4 / 1.117.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Gardener implements the automated management and operation of Kubernetes clusters as a service. A security vulnerability was discovered in Gardener prior to versions 1.116.4, 1.117.5, 1.118.2, and 1.119.0 that could allow a user with administrative privileges for a Gardener project to obtain control over the seed cluster(s) where their shoot clusters are managed. This CVE affects all Gardener installations no matter of the public cloud provider(s) used for the seed clusters/shoot clusters. `gardener/gardener` (`gardenlet`) is the affected component. Versions 1.116.4, 1.117.5, 1.118.2, and 1.119.0 fix the issue.

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 privilege escalation vulnerability in Gardener's gardenlet component allows a user with project-admin privileges to gain control over seed clusters that host their shoot clusters. By exploiting insufficient authorization checks, an attacker with administrative access to a shoot cluster can pivot to compromise the underlying seed cluster, potentially affecting all shoot clusters deployed on that seed.

MitigationUpgrade Gardener gardenlet to version 1.116.4, 1.117.5, 1.118.2, or 1.119.0 or later to patch the authorization flaw. Prioritize upgrades for gardenlet instances managing production workloads.

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
GardenerApplication
Affected:< 1.116.4>= 1.117.0, < 1.117.5>= 1.118.0, < 1.118.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify gardenlet version in your control plane
    Run `kubectl get deployment gardenlet -n kube-system -o jsonpath='{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}'` or check the gardenlet deployment's container image tag. Alternatively, query the Gardenlet API via `kubectl get gardenlet -n garden -o jsonpath='{.items[0].spec.version}'` if available.
    Affected if The gardenlet version number is lower than 1.116.4, or between 1.117.0 and 1.117.4 inclusive, or between 1.118.0 and 1.118.1 inclusive.
  2. Confirm you have shoot clusters managed by gardenlet
    Run `kubectl get shoots --all-namespaces` or query the Gardener API to list shoot clusters. A non-empty list indicates you have shoot clusters deployed.
    Affected if You have one or more shoot clusters deployed. The vulnerability only affects environments with active shoot clusters.
  3. Verify project-admin users exist in your Gardener setup
    Check if project-admins are configured by querying `kubectl get projectmembers` or reviewing the Gardener Project resource with `kubectl get project <project-name> -o yaml` to see role bindings.
    Affected if Gardener Projects with users assigned project-admin or admin-level roles are present. The attacker needs this privilege level to exploit the flaw.
  4. Identify which seeds host your shoot clusters
    Run `kubectl get shoots --all-namespaces -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.spec.seedName}{"\n"}{end}'` to list seed cluster names that host your shoots.
    Affected if Your shoots are deployed on specific seed clusters. Compromise of a seed affects all shoots on that seed.

You are affected if your gardenlet version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND you have shoot clusters deployed with project-admin users configured.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.116.4 / 1.117.5 / 1.118.2 or later
Fixed in 1.116.41.117.51.118.2
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Gardener gardenlet to version 1.116.4, 1.117.5, 1.118.2, or 1.119.0 or later to patch the authorization flaw. Prioritize upgrades for gardenlet instances managing production workloads.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to version 1.119.0 (or the latest 1.119.x release); if remaining on an older branch, upgrade to 1.116.4 (1.116.x), 1.117.5 (1.117.x), or 1.118.2 (1.118.x)

  1. Identify the currently running Gardener version using `gardenlet --version` or checking the deployment manifests
  2. Determine which version branch your current installation is on (1.116.x, 1.117.x, or 1.118.x)
  3. For Gardener deployments using Helm: run `helm repo update` and then `helm upgrade gardenlet gardener/gardenlet --version <new-version>` where <new-version> is the appropriate fixed version for your branch
  4. For Gardener deployments using operator manifests: update the gardenlet image tag to the fixed version (e.g., `eu.gcr.io/gardener-project/gardener/gardenlet:v1.116.4`, `v1.117.5`, `v1.118.2`, or `v1.119.0`)
  5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the gardenlet pod is running and healthy: `kubectl get pods -n garden`
  6. Review Gardener release notes for the target version to check for any required migration steps or configuration changes
  7. Ensure all shoot clusters are healthy after the upgrade by running `kubectl get shoot -A`
Caveat Review release notes for migration steps; some versions may require configuration changes or have deprecated features

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

Fix this in Gardener Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2025-47283 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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