CVE-2020-26278 | Weave Net Pods running in host PID namespace can be used to escalate other Kubernetes vulnerabilities

Weave Net is open source software which creates a virtual network that connects Docker containers across multiple hosts and enables their automatic discovery. Weave Net before version 2.8.0 has a vulnerability in which can allow an attacker to take over any host in the cluster. Weave Net is supplied with a manifest that runs pods on every node in a Kubernetes cluster, which are responsible for managing network connections for all other pods in the cluster. This requires a lot of power over the host, and the manifest sets `privileged: true`, which gives it that power. It also set `hostPID: true`, which gave it the ability to access all other processes on the host, and write anywhere in the root filesystem of the host. This setting was not necessary, and is being removed. You are only vulnerable if you have an additional vulnerability (e.g. a bug in Kubernetes) or misconfiguration that allows an attacker to run code inside the Weave Net pod, No such bug is known at the time of release, and there are no known instances of this being exploited. Weave Net 2.8.0 removes the hostPID setting and moves CNI plugin install to an init container. Users who do not update to 2.8.0 can edit the hostPID line in their existing DaemonSet manifest to say false instead of true, arrange some other way to install CNI plugins (e.g. Ansible) and remove those mounts from the DaemonSet manifest.

Published: 2021-01-20 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-26278 is rated Low Risk (34.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.16%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-26278

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 0.43% 0.16% -0.28%
2 2025-03-29 0.16% 0.43% +0.28%
3 2025-03-17 0.16%

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-26278

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.8 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.3 4.0 [email protected]
8.0 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.3 6.0 [email protected]
7.9 2.0 HIGH
AV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:A)
Requires access to an adjacent network segment.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
5.5 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-26278

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-26278

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
weave weave < 2.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:weave:weave:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-26278

cvelogic Threat Intelligence