Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach MAAS metadata/preseed server over network
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DeliveryObtain or infer target machine system ID
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ExploitQuery vendor-data metadata endpoint unauthenticated
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ExecutionLeak RPC secret in plaintext
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ImpactImpersonate rack controller / pivot in MAAS fabric
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Collection, Discovery The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitable only against MAAS machines deployed with the non-default 'register as rack' (install_rackd) option enabled; the attacker must also obtain or infer the target machine's MAAS system ID and have network access to the preseed/metadata (vendor-data) endpoint. No authentication is required (PR:N). Limiting factors that reduce real-world exposure: the register-as-rack deployment mode is not the default, the system ID must be known or guessed, and the metadata server must be network-reachable to the attacker. Note the patch removes the install_rackd/deploy-as-rack feature entirely, so upgraded instances cannot be newly placed in the vulnerable configuration. |
| Impact | This is a genuine but conditional, moderate-severity issue rather than an urgent widespread threat. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/C:L/I:N/A:N, base 5.3) indicates a network-reachable, unauthenticated information leak with no integrity or availability impact, which aligns with the description of an RPC secret exposed via the vendor-data metadata endpoint. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public exploit was provided in the input, so there is no evidence of active or probable-imminent exploitation - exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' The real-world risk is materially constrained by two preconditions not captured by the CVSS base score: the target machine must have been deployed with the non-default 'register as rack' (install_rackd) option, and the attacker must obtain or infer the machine's system ID before querying the preseed/metadata server. One important nuance to verify: although the base impact is rated C:L, the leaked artifact is the MAAS RPC secret - a credential that governs rack-to-region controller communication - so the downstream consequence (potential rack controller impersonation/privileged access within the MAAS fabric) may be more serious than a 'Low' confidentiality rating suggests; defenders should treat the leaked secret as a compromised credential and rotate it. Overall: a real priority for MAAS operators who used register-as-rack, but low urgency for the broader population given the niche product, missing exploitation signals, and configuration dependency. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with network reach to a MAAS region/metadata (preseed) server targets a machine that was deployed using the 'register as rack' option. After obtaining or guessing the machine's system ID, the attacker sends an unauthenticated request to the vendor-data metadata endpoint and receives the MAAS RPC secret in plaintext, which can then be abused to impersonate a rack controller. No public proof-of-concept was identified in the provided intelligence. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 02, 2026
Canonical MAAS exposes the region controller's RPC secret in plaintext through the vendor-data metadata endpoint, letting an unauthenticated attacker who can reach that endpoint and knows or guesses a target machine's MAAS system ID recover the shared secret used for rack-controller RPC authentication (CVSS 5.3 / assessed CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N). Exposure is conditional: it only affects instances where a machine was deployed with the non-default 'register as rack' (install_rackd) option enabled, and it further requires network reachability to the preseed/metadata server plus knowledge of the system ID. There is no confirmed active exploitation (no CISA KEV listing) and no public exploit code identified at time of analysis, but vendor patches exist in MAAS 3.4.10, 3.5.14, 3.6.5, 3.7.3, and 3.8.0, and the fix disables the vulnerable deploy-as-rack feature entirely.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor patches by upgrading MAAS to 3.4.10, 3.5.14, 3.6.5, 3.7.3, or 3.8.0 as appropriate for your release track; Canonical's fix disables the deploy-as-rack (install_rackd) feature, so upgraded instances can no longer be newly placed in the vulnerable configuration. The individual fixes are in upstream commits 8489979d64b0e7f124e7cef66d02b21263918f9b, a9486ad0cc90f4571142c1bea13f02d1361cb31e, ead659f70224538517c80478c3fd8c9e730aae79, 3864ef9dca54e36e3d34d18233b87666b8ee1dc8, and 65e89c05970f4514f9e6de043c2779017b43ad9d, with details at https://bugs.launchpad.net/maas/+bug/2153942. If you have already deployed any machine with 'register as rack' enabled, treat the region controller RPC secret as compromised and rotate/regenerate it after patching, and audit for rogue rack controllers; the trade-off is that rack controllers must then be installed and enrolled out-of-band, which is the supported model going forward. As a compensating control where upgrading is not immediately possible, block attacker access to the preseed/metadata (vendor-data) endpoint from untrusted networks and avoid creating register-as-rack machines - but note that firewalling the metadata service can break PXE/cloud-init provisioning for legitimate nodes, so scope any filter tightly rather than disabling the endpoint outright. Patching remains the only complete fix, since no partial configuration reliably hides the leaked field in earlier versions.
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
MAAS (Metal as a Service) is Canonical's bare-metal provisioning platform, split into a region controller (API/database/UI) and rack controllers that talk to it over an RPC/message-broker channel secured by a shared secret. During provisioning, target machines fetch configuration and vendor data from the MAAS preseed/metadata server, cloud-init style. The flaw is an information-exposure/access-control failure on that metadata path: when a node was deployed with 'register as rack' (install_rackd) enabled, the RPC secret - the credential a rack controller uses to authenticate to the region controller - was served in plaintext in the vendor-data metadata response rather than being withheld. The upstream commits (8489979, a9486ad, ead659f, 3864ef9, 65e89c0) do not merely redact the field; they disable the install_rackd deployment option and return an HTTP 400 'Deploying a machine as a rackd has been disabled and it's not supported anymore', with a TODO to strip the remaining code before MAAS 4.0. Because the patch removes the feature, upgraded instances cannot be placed into the vulnerable configuration, though pre-existing register-as-rack deployments should treat the secret as compromised. No CWE was assigned in the source data; the root cause class is information exposure of a sensitive credential.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Network metadata endpoint and no auth give AV:N/PR:N, but the non-default register-as-rack precondition plus needing to obtain/infer the system ID justify AC:H; only a secret is disclosed, so C:L, I:N, A:N.
Primary rating from Vendor (canonical).
CVSS VectorVendor: canonical
DescriptionCVE.org
An information exposure vulnerability in Canonical MAAS prior to versions 3.4.10, 3.5.14, 3.6.5, 3.7.3, and 3.8.0 allows an unauthenticated attacker to retrieve the RPC secret in plaintext via the vendor data metadata endpoint. If a target machine was deployed with the 'register as rack' option enabled, an attacker who obtains or infers the machine's system ID can query the preseed/metadata server to leak the secret.
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
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
Untrusted search path vulnerability in maas-import-pxe-files in MAAS before 13.10 allows local users to execute arbitrar
Privilege escalation in Canonical MAAS allows an authenticated low-privileged user to self-promote to administrator by m
maas-import-pxe-files in MAAS before 13.10 does not verify the integrity of downloaded files, which allows remote attack
EUVD-2026-91775
GHSA-3r9p-96x8-39gw
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB