# CVE-2026-44543: Local Path Provisioner: HelperPod Template Injection

> A malicious user with ConfigMap edit permissions can inject privileged pod templates, gaining root access to the host node and accessing sensitive data.

- **Severity:** High 8.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 28 May 2026
- **Updated:** 30 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7fxv-8wr2-mfc4, GO-2026-5218

## What is CVE-2026-44543?

CVE-2026-44543 is a high-severity vulnerability in rancher local-path-provisioner, published on 28 May 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Local Path Provisioner provides a way for the Kubernetes users to utilize the local storage in each node. Prior to 0.0.36, a malicious user with permission to edit the local-path-config ConfigMap in the local-path-storage namespace can manipulate the helperPod.yaml template used by rancher/local-path-provisioner. The helperPod.yaml template is loaded by the provisioner and used to create HelperPods during PVC provisioning and cleanup operations. However, the template is not sufficiently validated before use. Security-sensitive fields such as securityContext.privileged, hostPath volumes, and Linux capabilities can be injected into the template. When a PVC operation triggers HelperPod creation, the provisioner creates the HelperPod using the attacker-controlled template. This can result in a privileged pod running on the target node with the host root filesystem mounted. This may allow the attacker to access sensitive host files, read ServiceAccount tokens from other pods on the same node, access other tenants' local-path volume data, or modify files on the host node. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.0.36.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44543?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/rancher/local-path-provisioner. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/rancher/local-path-provisioner` | Go | All versions | 0.0.36 |
| `github.com/rancher/local-path-provisioner` | Go | All versions | 0.0.36 |
| `github.com/rancher/local-path-provisioner` | Go | All versions | 0.0.36 |

Products: Suse Local Path Provisioner.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-44543?

Upgrade github.com/rancher/local-path-provisioner to 0.0.36 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-44543 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44543 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-44543 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-44543 is a high-severity vulnerability in rancher local-path-provisioner, published on 28 May 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44543 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/rancher/local-path-provisioner (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.0.36
- github.com/rancher/local-path-provisioner (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.0.36
- github.com/rancher/local-path-provisioner (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.0.36

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44543/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44543/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44543
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44543
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-44543

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44543/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.