Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-43003

Command Injection in Openstack Ironic Python Agent 1.0.0 – 11.5.0

Published
01 May 2026
Modified
09 September 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0098 61th percentile
Risk Priority 58 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-2026-43003 is a high-severity Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere (CWE-829) vulnerability in Openstack Ironic Python Agent. Its CVSS base score is 8.0 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Software Extensions (T1176); ranked in the top 39% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

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

CVE-2026-43003 is a vulnerability in OpenStack's Ironic Python Agent (IPA) affecting versions 1.0.0 through 11.5.0. The issue arises when IPA executes the grub-install command from within a chroot environment of a deployed partition image, which can lead to arbitrary code execution if the image is malicious. This flaw is classified under CWE-829 (Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere) and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.0 (AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for significant confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts with a changed scope.

An attacker with low privileges (PR:L) on an adjacent network (AV:A) could exploit this vulnerability, though it requires high attack complexity (AC:H) and no user interaction (UI:N). Exploitation occurs when IPA processes a malicious partition image during deployment, allowing the attacker to achieve code execution within the agent's context. Successful exploitation grants high-level access to confidential data, modification of system integrity, and disruption of availability across the scoped components.

Advisories reference the issue in Launchpad bug 2148310 and a specific code snippet in ironic-python-agent's efi_utils.py (lines 134-139 in commit 236b33abffe6688afc39c21e351cc3889b3db2dd), highlighting the problematic grub-install execution. Practitioners should review these for patch details and upgrade to remediated versions beyond 11.5.0.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An 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.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1176 Software Extensions Persistence
Adversaries may abuse software extensions to establish persistent access to victim systems.
T1195.001 Compromise Software Dependencies and Development Tools Initial Access
Adversaries may manipulate software dependencies and development tools prior to receipt by a final consumer for the purpose of data or system compromise.
T1505.004 IIS Components Persistence
Adversaries may install malicious components that run on Internet Information Services (IIS) web servers to establish persistence.
T1505.005 Terminal Services DLL Persistence
Adversaries may abuse components of Terminal Services to enable persistent access to systems.
T1574.006 Dynamic Linker Hijacking Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking environment variables the dynamic linker uses to load shared libraries.
T1055 Process Injection Stealth
Adversaries may inject code into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-66902Shared CWE-78, CWE-829
CVE-2026-55697Shared CWE-78, CWE-829
CVE-2025-54135Shared CWE-78, CWE-829
CVE-2024-48336Shared CWE-829
CVE-2024-45482Shared CWE-829
CVE-2026-26959Shared CWE-829
CVE-2025-67842Shared CWE-829
CVE-2025-57729Shared CWE-829
CVE-2023-41267Shared CWE-829
CVE-2025-27607Shared CWE-829

Affected Assets

openstack
ironic python agent
1.0.0 — 11.5.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 6 hardening rules · 6 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V14.2.3
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect command sanitization during development.

Input validation directly neutralizes or rejects special characters that would otherwise alter OS command structure.

Requires documented, valid provenance for components, preventing acceptance of code from outside the trusted sphere.

Least privilege reduces the permissions available to any process that could be subverted by injected commands.

Least functionality restricts available OS commands and interpreters, limiting the blast radius of injection.

Secure engineering principles require proper neutralization of untrusted input before command construction.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

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

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

GV.SC-01 partial match
prevents

Supply-chain program directly governs inclusion of third-party executable code.

GV.SC-05 partial match
prevents

Contractual requirements can mandate trusted sources and integrity checks for included functionality.

GV.SC-07 partial match
prevents

Supplier risk assessment explicitly covers risks from their products and libraries.

ID.AM-02 partial match
prevents

Software inventory enables tracking of externally sourced components but does not itself enforce trust.

ID.RA-09 partial match
prevents

Pre-acquisition integrity/authenticity checks directly prevent inclusion of untrusted code.

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.

prevents

By requiring suppliers to propagate security requirements and to disclose component provenance, the control limits the inclusion of functionality obtained from untrusted third-party sources without oversight.

finds

Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248635 Executable search paths within the initialization files of all local interactive OL 8 users must only contain paths that resolve to the system default or the user's home directory. prevents CWE-829
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271847 OL 9 must be configured so that executable search paths within the initialization files of all local interactive users must only contain paths that resolve to the system default or the users home directory. prevents CWE-829
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
  • V-204477 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that all local interactive user initialization files executable search paths contain only paths that resolve to the users home directory. prevents CWE-829
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230317 Executable search paths within the initialization files of all local interactive RHEL 8 users must only contain paths that resolve to the system default or the users home directory. prevents CWE-829
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-258050 Executable search paths within the initialization files of all local interactive RHEL 9 users must only contain paths that resolve to the system default or the users home directory. prevents CWE-829
Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220737 Administrative accounts must not be used with applications that access the Internet, such as web browsers, or with potential Internet sources, such as email. prevents CWE-829

References