Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as a tenant on CloudStack
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DeliveryIdentify victim tenant's CKS cluster
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ExploitSend crafted node add/remove API request
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ExecutionAccess-control check fails to enforce ownership
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PersistManipulate victim's Kubernetes cluster nodes
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ImpactCompromise cross-tenant cluster integrity
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Access control enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Defense Evasion The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires a CloudStack deployment running the Kubernetes Service (CKS) plugin in a multi-tenant configuration, and the attacker must be able to issue CKS node add/remove operations - realistically meaning they hold a valid tenant/account on the target CloudStack instance (the 'cross-tenant' framing implies at least tenant-level access even though the vendor vector states PR:N). The concrete trigger is the cluster node add-and-remove workflow, where account ownership is not enforced. Limiting factors: single-tenant or non-CKS CloudStack deployments are not exposed, only versions 4.21.0.0 through 4.22.1.0 are affected, and 4.22.1.1+ removes the flaw; there is no user-interaction requirement and attack complexity is low. |
| Impact | The signals conflict and warrant judgment rather than blind reliance on the 9.1 score. The vendor CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/C:H/I:H/A:N) rates this Critical with no privileges required, yet the description explicitly frames the flaw as 'cross-tenant' manipulation - which implies the attacker must already hold a valid tenant account on the CloudStack instance, i.e. some authentication is realistically needed (verify PR:N with the vendor; it likely understates the access requirement). Countervailing that Critical rating, EPSS is only 0.13% (3rd percentile), there is no KEV listing and no known public exploit, indicating no evidence of widespread or active exploitation. That said, the impact - breaching tenant isolation in a cloud orchestration platform - is severe for any operator running CloudStack as a shared multi-tenant service, so even a mid-sized service provider should treat this as a high-priority patch given the trivial upgrade path. Also note A:N despite the flaw involving removing nodes, which would plausibly degrade a victim cluster's availability; the official vector may understate availability impact. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who holds an ordinary tenant account on a shared CloudStack cloud crafts a CKS node add/remove API request that references another tenant's Kubernetes cluster; because ownership is not enforced, CloudStack executes the operation against the victim tenant's cluster. The attacker can thereby inject attacker-controlled nodes into, or strip nodes out of, a cluster they do not own - undermining that tenant's cluster integrity and availability. No public exploit code is known, but the low attack complexity means a knowledgeable tenant could reproduce it against a vulnerable multi-tenant deployment. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Aug 25, 2026
Cross-tenant manipulation in Apache CloudStack's Kubernetes Service (CKS) plugin allows a tenant to add and remove nodes on Kubernetes clusters belonging to other tenants, affecting versions 4.21.0.0 through 4.22.1.0. The improper access control breaks tenant isolation in a multi-tenant IaaS platform, enabling unauthorized integrity and confidentiality impact against neighboring tenants' clusters. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS is low (0.13%, 3rd percentile) despite the 9.1 CVSS.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Cross-tenant access control bypass in Apache CloudStack's Kubernetes Service (CKS) plugin allows an authenticated tenant to add or remove nodes from Kubernetes clusters owned by other tenants in the same CloudStack deployment. Affected versions span 4.21.0.0 through 4.22.1.0. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, but the cross-tenant scope of this CWE-284 flaw makes it a meaningful risk in any multi-tenant CloudStack environment using the CKS plugin. Vendor-released patch version 4.22.1.1 addresses the issue.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade Apache CloudStack to version 4.22.1.1 or later, which fixes the access-control flaw, per the Apache advisory at https://lists.apache.org/thread/g6cwddtjrwbh1d56wjz4cfp3fzfm4kbc. This is the primary and recommended action and the upgrade is a minor point release, making it low-friction. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict or temporarily disable the CKS Kubernetes cluster node add/remove operations for untrusted tenants and tighten which accounts are permitted to invoke CKS provisioning, accepting that this limits legitimate tenant self-service functionality; additionally, monitor CloudStack API/audit logs for cluster node add or remove actions that reference clusters outside the calling account's ownership as a detection compensating control. Do not rely on network controls alone, since the flaw is an authorization gap within the management API rather than a network exposure issue.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Apache CloudStack is an open-source IaaS cloud orchestration platform used to build public and private clouds. The affected component is the Kubernetes Service (CKS) plugin, which provisions and manages Kubernetes clusters as a tenant-facing service. The root cause is CWE-284 (Improper Access Control): the node add/remove workflow does not correctly enforce tenant/account ownership boundaries, so requests are honored across tenant scopes rather than being confined to the caller's own account. In a multi-tenant deployment this failure of authorization checks collapses the isolation guarantee that separates one tenant's Kubernetes resources from another's. The single CPE (cpe:2.3:a:apache_software_foundation:apache_cloudstack:*) confirms the CloudStack management application itself is the affected product.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Cross-tenant action requires a valid tenant account (PR:L) and crosses a security boundary (S:C); removing nodes degrades a victim cluster, so A:H rather than the vendor's A:N.
Primary rating from Vendor (apache).
CVSS VectorVendor: apache
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Improper Access Control vulnerability in Apache CloudStack's Kubernetes Service (CKS) plugin, allowing cross-tenant manipulation of the Kubernetes cluster while adding and removing nodes.
This issue affects Apache CloudStack: from 4.21.0.0 through 4.22.1.0.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.22.1.1 or later, which fixes the issue.
Articles & Coverage 1
Executive ViewAI
Apache CloudStack versions 4.21.0.0 through 4.22.1.0 contain a critical cross-tenant isolation breach in the Kubernetes Service plugin that allows unauthorized node manipulation on other tenants' clusters; no public exploit identified at time of analysis. This breaks multi-tenant security boundaries and exposes neighboring organizations' infrastructure and data to compromise by other platform tenants. Organizations running CloudStack in multi-tenant environments require immediate assessment and remediation.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations include: disabling the Kubernetes Service plugin component if operations permit; implementing strict network segmentation and firewall rules between tenant clusters; restricting pod-deployment and cluster-modification capabilities through RBAC policies; enabling comprehensive audit logging of all cluster node changes; and monitoring for suspicious node join/removal events.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
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EUVD-2026-63835
GHSA-2vq4-5w2v-frrg
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
VulDB
Exploit-DB