Security Resilience

CVE-2023-22480

Access Control in Fit2Cloud Kubeoperator ≤ 3.16.4

Published
14 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.67 99.3th percentile
Risk Priority 82 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-22480 is a high-severity Improper Authorization (CWE-285) vulnerability in Fit2Cloud Kubeoperator. Its CVSS base score is 7.3 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.7% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

KubeOperator versions 3.16.3 and earlier contain an authorization flaw (CWE-285/CWE-863) in which multiple API endpoints accept requests from unauthenticated callers. The affected component is the web API layer of this open-source Kubernetes distribution used for planning, deploying, and operating production clusters. The issue permits leakage of sensitive cluster configuration and credential material, rated 7.3 on CVSS 3.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L).

An unauthenticated network attacker can invoke the exposed endpoints to retrieve internal data and, under certain deployment conditions, escalate the access to full cluster takeover. No user interaction or prior credentials are required, making the attack remotely exploitable against any reachable KubeOperator instance running an unpatched release.

The project has released version 3.16.4 containing the fix; the corresponding commits and advisory are published in the KubeOperator GitHub repository (GHSA-jxgp-jgh3-8jc8). Administrators are advised to upgrade immediately and verify that the updated API authorization checks are active.

EPSS values have remained elevated, with a recorded peak of 0.7924 and a current score of 0.7559, indicating sustained exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

KubeOperator is an open source Kubernetes distribution focused on helping enterprises plan, deploy and operate production-level K8s clusters. In KubeOperator versions 3.16.3 and below, API interfaces with unauthorized entities and can leak sensitive information. This vulnerability could be used to…

more

take over the cluster under certain conditions. This issue has been patched in version 3.16.4.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-39965Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2025-62795Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2024-27288Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2023-43651Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2023-48193Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2024-29201Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2023-46123Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2023-3423Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2023-42442Same vendor: Fit2Cloud
CVE-2025-15598Same vendor: Fit2Cloud

Affected Assets

fit2cloud
kubeoperator
≤ 3.16.4

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-863

Documented procedures facilitate correct implementation and ongoing management of authorization decisions.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-863

Periodic reviews identify and correct flaws in authorization decisions or enforcement.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-863

Establishing permitted attributes and values, plus auditing changes, ensures authorization decisions are based on correctly managed policy data.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-863

Explicitly mandates authorizing remote access types before permitting connections, directly mitigating improper authorization.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-863

The control explicitly requires authorization of each wireless access type prior to permitting connections.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-863

Mandating explicit authorization of mobile device connections reduces the risk of improper authorization decisions for system access.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-863

Specifying access authorizations for each account and requiring approvals for account requests enforces proper authorization decisions.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-863

Requires explicit authorization for individuals to use external systems to access or handle organization-controlled information.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

A.5.1 only requires the existence of an overarching policy and topic-specific policies (including on access control); it does not itself perform or enforce any authorization check, so the CWE-285 weakness can still be exploited.

blocks

Mapping access rights to information classification and business requirements forces correct enforcement of authorization decisions, blocking the incorrect authorization weakness at the policy and implementation stage.

blocks

A.5.18's provisioning, revocation, review and adjustment of access rights (incl. before role changes/termination, with segregation and owner approval) directly stops incorrect authorization decisions from being exploitable in the vast majority of cases; the bounded remainder is incorrectness inside the authorization logic itself (e.g. flawed conditional or missing check) rather than rights that were wrongly granted.

finds

Independent reviewers evaluate whether authorization logic matches policy, thereby reducing the window in which incorrect or missing authorization checks remain in production.

finds

By requiring managers to verify that authorization decisions match policy and to remediate deviations, the control limits the persistence of incorrect or missing authorization checks.

blocks

Requiring authorization processes and privilege assignments to be specified during project initiation prevents downstream components from receiving overly broad or incorrect rights that would allow unauthorized actions.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-285, a class-level weakness. Rules are authored against its narrower children: CWE-552.
  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-863, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References