CVE-2026-76654
Subpath symlinking on Windows nodes permits NTLM coercion
Description
An NTLM coercion vulnerability exists on Windows nodes when the subPath supplied in a pod's volumeMounts is set to a symbolic link that points to an attacker-controlled network share. When a kubelet resolves symlinks, it does not reject a target that resolves to a UNC path. As a result, the kubelet will transparently attempt to authenticate to the share using NTLM. This allows an attacker to obtain the NetNTLMv2 hash of the account under which the kubelet is running. An attacker could then attempt to crack the hash to retrieve the corresponding password or relay it to impersonate the node, if the node is domain-joined.
INFO
Published Date :
Oct. 26, 2026, 11:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 27, 2026, 12:17 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | a6081bf6-c852-4425-ad4f-a67919267565 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | MITRE-CVE | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update Kubernetes to a version that rejects UNC paths in symlinks.
- Configure kubelet to not resolve symlinks to UNC paths.
- Restrict access to network shares used for pod volumes.
- Use hardened credentials for kubelet service accounts.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-76654.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/142098 | |
| https://groups.google.com/g/kubernetes-security-announce/c/Wkv04IFzW8g | |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/23/36 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-76654 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-76654
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-76654 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-76654 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Oct. 27, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/23/36 -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Oct. 26, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description An NTLM coercion vulnerability exists on Windows nodes when the subPath supplied in a pod's volumeMounts is set to a symbolic link that points to an attacker-controlled network share. When a kubelet resolves symlinks, it does not reject a target that resolves to a UNC path. As a result, the kubelet will transparently attempt to authenticate to the share using NTLM. This allows an attacker to obtain the NetNTLMv2 hash of the account under which the kubelet is running. An attacker could then attempt to crack the hash to retrieve the corresponding password or relay it to impersonate the node, if the node is domain-joined. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N Added CWE CWE-59 Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/76xxx/CVE-2026-76654.json">CVE-2026-76654</a> Added Reference https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/142098 Added Reference https://groups.google.com/g/kubernetes-security-announce/c/Wkv04IFzW8g