# GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5: Rancher's restricted PodSecurityPolicy does not prevent containers from running as a privileged user > Rancher's restricted PodSecurityPolicy allows containers to run as root, bypassing security controls and enabling privilege escalation within the cluster. - **Severity:** Not scored - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 3 Mar 2026 - **Also known as:** GO-2026-4590 ## What is GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5? GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5 is a vulnerability in github.com/rancher/rancher, published on 3 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description ### Impact The `restricted` pod security policy (PSP), provided in Rancher versions from 2.0 up to and including 2.6.3, has a deviation from the [upstream](https://github.com/kubernetes/website/blob/6d22e08903d7dd44b049c4689fa882ae07f67de9/content/en/examples/policy/restricted-psp.yaml) `restricted` policy provided in Kubernetes, in which Rancher's PSP has `runAsUser` set to `runAsAny`, while upstream has `runAsUser` set to `MustRunAsNonRoot`. This allows containers to run as any user, including a privileged user (`root`), even when Rancher's `restricted` policy is enforced on a project or at cluster level. A new `restricted-noroot` PSP was created to prevent pods from running as `root` when this policy is enforced. This new policy was introduced, instead of patching the current provided `restricted` policy, in order to avoid breaking users' workloads that are using the `restricted` PSP and that might be running as a privileged user. **Note**: Running containers as `root` increases the risk of a compromised container being used by a malicious actor as an attack platform to further exploit the user's environment. It is a security best practice to avoid running containers as a privileged user and to limit its usage to workloads where it is strictly necessary. ### Patches Patched versions include release 2.6.4 and later versions. The existing `restricted` PSP in Rancher 2.6.4 was not modified and still allows containers to run as a privileged user, as explained above. This fix was not backported to previous releases. For Rancher 2.6.4 and later releases, users using the current `restricted` PSP and that want to prevent containers from running as `root`, are advised to migrate to the new `restricted-noroot` policy. Before doing this migration, it is necessary to verify if affected workloads are currently running as a privileged user and modify them accordingly to the users' own environment to run as a non-privileged user. A redeployment of the affected workload is necessary in order for the new PSP to take effect. ### Workarounds For users running Rancher 2.6.3 and previous releases, which did not received this backport and that want to benefit from this fix, they can manually create a new `restricted-noroot` PSP on their clusters through Rancher UI. The template of the `restricted-noroot` policy provided in Rancher 2.6.4 is available in the [source code](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/blob/7410cef256c9ed22e8bf4609e5b2e9a1f63a0d05/pkg/data/management/podsecuritypolicytemplate_data.go#L101-L145). As a reminder, it is also necessary to manually verify and redeploy the running workload before enabling a more restricted pod security policy. ### References For instructions on how to configure pod security policies using Rancher, please refer to the [documentation](https://rancher.com/docs/rancher/v2.6/en/admin-settings/pod-security-policies/) page. For more information on PSPs in Kubernetes, please refer to the Kubernetes [documentation](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/policy/pod-security-policy/) ([permalink](https://github.com/kubernetes/website/blob/f5ec6b03db0925dc2b9cb9bbdc8135dcbeacbe0e/content/en/docs/concepts/policy/pod-security-policy.md)). **Important reminder:** Pod security policies are considered deprecated since Kubernetes v1.21, and will be removed in Kubernetes v1.25. Consult Kubernetes' [documentation](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/migrate-from-psp/) ([permalink](https://github.com/kubernetes/website/blob/f5ec6b03db0925dc2b9cb9bbdc8135dcbeacbe0e/content/en/docs/tasks/configure-pod-container/migrate-from-psp.md)) regarding how to migrate from PodSecurityPolicy to Kubernetes' built-in PodSecurity Admission Controller. For the list of supported Kubernetes versions in Rancher, please consult our [support matrix](https://www.suse.com/suse-rancher/support-matrix/all-supported-versions/). ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Reach out to [SUSE Rancher Security team](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/security/policy) for security related inquiries. * Open an issue in [Rancher](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/issues/new/choose) repository. * Verify our [support matrix](https://www.suse.com/suse-rancher/support-matrix/all-supported-versions/) and [product support lifecycle](https://www.suse.com/lifecycle/). ## Which versions are affected by GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5? 3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/rancher/rancher. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `github.com/rancher/rancher` | Go | From 2.0.0 | 2.6.4 | | `github.com/rancher/rancher` | Go | From 2.0.0 | 2.6.4 | | `github.com/rancher/rancher` | Go | From 2.0.0+incompatible | None | ## How do I fix GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5? Upgrade github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.6.4 or later. ## Is GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5 is a vulnerability in github.com/rancher/rancher, published on 3 Mar 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected packages and fixed versions: - github.com/rancher/rancher (Go): affected from 2.0.0; fixed in 2.6.4 - github.com/rancher/rancher (Go): affected from 2.0.0; fixed in 2.6.4 - github.com/rancher/rancher (Go): affected from 2.0.0+incompatible; no fix listed 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/GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5/index.md) ``` ## Sources - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/GHSA-hwm2-4ph6-w6m5/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.