CVE-2023-5528 | Kubernetes - Windows nodes - Insufficient input sanitization in in-tree storage plugin leads to privilege escalation

A security issue was discovered in Kubernetes where a user that can create pods and persistent volumes on Windows nodes may be able to escalate to admin privileges on those nodes. Kubernetes clusters are only affected if they are using an in-tree storage plugin for Windows nodes.

Published: 2023-11-14 Last update: 2025-01-03 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-5528 is rated Moderate Risk (63.6/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 19.85%, 96th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +1.35% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

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-2023-5528

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 2026-05-25 18.51% 19.85% +1.35%
2 2026-03-04 12.50% 18.51% +6.01%
3 2026-03-01 — 12.50% —

Full EPSS history (58 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-5528

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.2 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
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.
 1.2 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
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:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
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.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-5528

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-5528

GHSA-hq6q-c2x6-hmch · Severity: high · Ecosystem: go — Kubernetes Improper Input Validation vulnerability

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-5528

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2023-5528 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (kubernetes), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-5528
gentoo high CVE-2023-5528: 1 GLSA(s) (202405-31), 1 atom(s) (sys-cluster/kubelet); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2023-5528
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5528
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-5528 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (kubernetes), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 5, ignored 3. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-5528

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-5528

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
kubernetes kubernetes >= 1.8.0, < 1.25.16 cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
kubernetes kubernetes >= 1.26.0, < 1.26.11 cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
kubernetes kubernetes >= 1.27.0, < 1.27.8 cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
kubernetes kubernetes >= 1.28.0, < 1.28.4 cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 37 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 38 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 39 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-5528

cvelogic Threat Intelligence