etcd is a distributed key-value store for the data of a distributed system. Prior to versions 3.4.42, 3.5.28, and 3.6.9, unauthorized users may bypass authentication or authorization checks and call certain etcd functions in clusters that expose the gRPC API to untrusted or partially trusted clients. In unpatched etcd clusters with etcd auth enabled, unauthorized users are able to call MemberList and learn cluster topology, including member IDs and advertised endpoints; call Alarm, which can be abused for operational disruption or denial of service; use Lease APIs, interfering with TTL-based keys and lease ownership; and/or trigger compaction, permanently removing historical revisions and disrupting watch, audit, and recovery workflows. Kubernetes does not rely on etcd’s built-in authentication and authorization. Instead, the API server handles authentication and authorization itself, so typical Kubernetes deployments are not affected. Versions 3.4.42, 3.5.28, and 3.6.9 contain a patch. If upgrading is not immediately possible, reduce exposure by treating the affected RPCs as unauthenticated in practice. Restrict network access to etcd server ports so only trusted components can connect and/or require strong client identity at the transport layer, such as mTLS with tightly scoped client certificate distribution.
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cvss
common vulnerability scoring system v3.1. measures intrinsic severity on a 0-10 scale.
epss0.0005
exploitation prediction scoring system. probability this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild in the next 30 days.
kevno
cisa known exploited vulnerabilities catalog. confirmed active exploitation.
CVSS 3.1Common Vulnerability Scoring System v3.1
8.8/ 10
HIGH
exploitability
Attack Vector
Network
Attack Vector (AV:N): exploitable remotely over the network — most dangerous. no physical or adjacent access needed.
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Complexity (AC:L): no special conditions needed. attack can be reliably reproduced.
