CVE-2026-76654

Subpath symlinking on Windows nodes permits NTLM coercion

Published Oct 26, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 5.8 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
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.

Remediation

Vendor Solution

To mitigate this vulnerability, upgrade Kubernetes: https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/cluster-upgrade/

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in Kubernetes kubelet on Windows nodes. When kubelet resolves a volume subPath that is a symbolic link, it does not reject an ordinary UNC network path. Following that link causes Windows to authenticate to the remote share with NTLM, exposing the NetNTLMv2 hash of the kubelet account. That hash may be cracked or, if the node is domain-joined, used in an NTLM relay. 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.
Title kubelet: kubelet: Subpath symlinking on Windows nodes permits NTLM coercion Subpath symlinking on Windows nodes permits NTLM coercion
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Kubernetes
Kubernetes kubelet
Vendors & Products Kubernetes
Kubernetes kubelet
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in Kubernetes kubelet on Windows nodes. When kubelet resolves a volume subPath that is a symbolic link, it does not reject an ordinary UNC network path. Following that link causes Windows to authenticate to the remote share with NTLM, exposing the NetNTLMv2 hash of the kubelet account. That hash may be cracked or, if the node is domain-joined, used in an NTLM relay.
Title kubelet: kubelet: Subpath symlinking on Windows nodes permits NTLM coercion
Weaknesses CWE-59
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
kubernetes
Published
Updated
Nov 3, 2026, 8:26 PM
Reserved
Aug 19, 2026, 3:51 PM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Oct 26, 2026, 11:17 PM
Modified
Nov 3, 2026, 9:17 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Sep 15, 2026, 4:00 PM