CVE-2026-43003
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in OpenStack ironic-python-agent 1.0.0 through 11.5.0. Ironic Python Agent (IPA) sometimes executes grub-install from within a chroot of the deployed partition image, leading to code execution in the case of a malicious image.
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 confidenceThe ironic-python-agent (IPA) executes grub-install within a chroot of the deployed partition image during the provisioning process. A malicious or compromised partition image can inject arbitrary commands that execute with elevated privileges on the IPA agent host, leading to complete system compromise.
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>= 1.0.0, <= 11.5.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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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Identify the ironic-python-agent versionRun 'pip show ironic-python-agent' or check the package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q ironic-python-agent' or 'dpkg -l ironic-python-agent') to retrieve the installed version numberAffected if The installed version is 1.0.0 through 11.5.0 inclusive
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Verify the IPA service is presentCheck if ironic-python-agent is installed on the system by looking for the binary (e.g., 'which ironic-python-agent' or checking for the IPA service process)Affected if IPA is installed and the version falls within the affected range
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Determine if deployments use the grub2 or boot loader installation featureReview the Ironic conductor or IPA configuration for grub-related deployment steps. Look for logs or configuration indicating grub-install is invoked during image deploymentAffected if The environment uses IPA to deploy images with grub-install execution in a chroot, which is the default behavior for BIOS/UEFI boot loader installation in Ironic deployments
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Assess whether untrusted images could have been deployedReview the source of deployed images and whether any image deployment was performed by an untrusted party or from an unverified sourceAffected if Any image from an untrusted or unverified source was deployed through this IPA instance, as the vulnerability is triggered when deploying a malicious or compromised image
You are affected if ironic-python-agent version 1.0.0-11.5.0 is installed and any untrusted or malicious image was deployed through it, enabling arbitrary code execution on the IPA host via the chrooted grub-install execution.
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 · scopedRestrict or eliminate the execution of grub-install within the chroot environment; implement strict image validation and signing before deployment to ensure only trusted images are provisioned.
Ironic Python Agent >= 11.6.0
- Identify the current version of Ironic Python Agent in your environment
- Upgrade Ironic Python Agent to version 11.6.0 or later
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the IPA version
- Test that bare metal provisioning functionality continues to work as expected after the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-43003 — 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-2026-43003 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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