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IronicApplication · Openstack

CVE-2026-48681

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 26.1.7 / 29.0.6 or later.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
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
OpenStack Ironic through before 35.0.2 allows file overwrite via directory traversal during deployment with a crafted ISO 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 confidence

OpenStack Ironic bare metal provisioning service through version 35.0.1 is vulnerable to directory traversal during ISO image deployment, allowing an attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the host system by crafting a malicious ISO image with path traversal sequences in file paths.

MitigationUpgrade OpenStack Ironic to version 35.0.2 or later. Additionally, implement strict validation of ISO image contents and restrict deployment permissions to trusted users.

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
IronicApplication
Affected:>= 17.0.0, < 26.1.7>= 27.0.0, < 29.0.6>= 30.0.0, < 32.0.2>= 33.0.0, < 35.0.2

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

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

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 Ironic is installed
    Check for the ironic-conductor service or python-ironic package: systemctl status ironic-conductor OR rpm -qa | grep ironic OR pip list | grep ironic
    Affected if Ironic is present on the system
  2. Determine installed Ironic version
    Run ironic --version or check the package version: pip show ironic or rpm -q openstack-ironic-conductor
    Affected if Version falls within any of these ranges: >= 17.0.0 and < 26.1.7, OR >= 27.0.0 and < 29.0.6, OR >= 30.0.0 and < 32.0.2, OR >= 33.0.0 and < 35.0.2
  3. Confirm ISO image deployment is enabled
    Inspect the Ironic conductor configuration file (typically /etc/ironic/ironic.conf) for the deploy iso-related settings or check if any nodes are configured with iso deployment
    Affected if ISO-based deployment is enabled and nodes use ISO images for provisioning
  4. Check for recent deployment activity using ISO images
    Review Ironic conductor logs for ISO mount operations or examine deployed node configurations for iso_volume_backend or similar ISO-related parameters
    Affected if ISO image deployment has been performed recently, indicating the vulnerable code path may have been exercised

The environment is affected if OpenStack Ironic is installed with a version matching the affected ranges AND ISO-based deployment is in use, since the directory traversal only triggers when processing crafted ISO images during deployment.

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 26.1.7 / 29.0.6 / 32.0.2 or later
Fixed in 26.1.729.0.632.0.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade OpenStack Ironic to version 35.0.2 or later. Additionally, implement strict validation of ISO image contents and restrict deployment permissions to trusted users.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Ironic 35.0.2 or later (or the latest stable release in your current branch: 26.1.7+, 29.0.6+, 32.0.2+, or 35.0.2+)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Ironic version by checking the package version or OpenStack deployment metadata
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade target version based on current branch: if on 17.x-25.x upgrade to 26.1.7+, if on 27.x-28.x upgrade to 29.0.6+, if on 30.x-31.x upgrade to 32.0.2+, if on 33.x-34.x upgrade to 35.0.2+
  3. 3. Review OpenStack Ironic release notes for the target version to understand changes and prerequisites
  4. 4. Create a backup of the Ironic configuration files and database
  5. 5. Test the upgrade in a staging environment before applying to production
  6. 6. Upgrade the Ironic package using the package manager (e.g., pip install --upgrade ironic or distribution-specific package manager)
  7. 7. Run database migrations if required (ironic-dbsync upgrade)
  8. 8. Verify the Ironic services restart correctly
Caveat Review release notes for potential breaking changes between versions; major version jumps may require additional migration steps

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

Fix this in Ironic Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,160.

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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-2026-48681 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