KubeEdge: keadm DecompressTarGz path traversal enables arbitrary file write on Windows during edge node join

CISA KEV is observed exploitation evidence. FIRST EPSS is a dated prediction of exploitation in the next 30 days. Missing scores are unknown. This collector requests predictions only for explicit CVE aliases in the public NuGet archive; Microsoft release views retain their existing prediction scope.

No collected risk observation for these identifiers. This does not establish absence of exploitation or a zero probability.

KubeEdge is an open source system for extending native containerized application orchestration capabilities to hosts at Edge. From 1.16.0 until 1.21.2, 1.22.2, and 1.23.1, the DecompressTarGz function in keadm/cmd/keadm/app/cmd/util/common.go joins archive entry names to the extraction destination without sufficient validation. During keadm join or installation on Windows edge nodes, an archive influenced through a compromised, replaced, or untrusted download source can contain parent-directory components, Windows-style backslashes, absolute paths, or drive-prefixed paths that escape the intended directory. The affected keadm process can consequently write or overwrite files with its own privileges, potentially modifying configuration, executable, or service files and enabling persistent system modification or code execution. This issue is fixed in versions 1.21.2, 1.22.2, and 1.23.1.

Source published

21 Sep 2026 17:10:57 UTC

Source modified

24 Sep 2026 22:24:33 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

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CVSS 3.1 · 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

KubeEdge is an open source system for extending native containerized application orchestration capabilities to hosts at Edge. From 1.16.0 until 1.21.2, 1.22.2, and 1.23.1, the DecompressTarGz function in keadm/cmd/keadm/app/cmd/util/common.go joins archive entry names to the extraction destination without sufficient validation. During keadm join or installation on Windows edge nodes, an archive influenced through a compromised, replaced, or untrusted download source can contain parent-directory components, Windows-style backslashes, absolute paths, or drive-prefixed paths that escape the intended directory. The affected keadm process can consequently write or overwrite files with its own privileges, potentially modifying configuration, executable, or service files and enabling persistent system modification or code execution. This issue is fixed in versions 1.21.2, 1.22.2, and 1.23.1.

Source published

Sep 21, 2026, 5:10:57 PM (timezone not stated)

Source modified

Sep 24, 2026, 10:24:33 PM (timezone not stated)

Observed here

11 Nov 2026 15:04:55 UTC

Source terms

ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: euvd · ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

EUVD CVSS 3.1 · 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

KubeEdge is an open source system for extending native containerized application orchestration capabilities to hosts at Edge. From 1.16.0 until 1.21.2, 1.22.2, and 1.23.1, the DecompressTarGz function in keadm/cmd/keadm/app/cmd/util/common.go joins archive entry names to the extraction destination without sufficient validation. During keadm join or installation on Windows edge nodes, an archive influenced through a compromised, replaced, or untrusted download source can contain parent-directory components, Windows-style backslashes, absolute paths, or drive-prefixed paths that escape the intended directory. The affected keadm process can consequently write or overwrite files with its own privileges, potentially modifying configuration, executable, or service files and enabling persistent system modification or code execution. This issue is fixed in versions 1.21.2, 1.22.2, and 1.23.1.

Source published

21 Sep 2026 18:17:09 UTC

Source modified

24 Sep 2026 23:17:14 UTC

Observed here

25 Oct 2026 14:19:28 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

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CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Secondary · 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

## Description KubeEdge `keadm` contains a path traversal vulnerability in the `DecompressTarGz` archive extraction function. Archive entry names were joined directly with the extraction destination without sufficient validation. A crafted tar.gz archive containing parent-directory components, Windows-style backslashes, absolute paths, or drive-prefixed paths could cause files to be written outside the intended extraction directory. The issue is particularly relevant to Windows edge nodes during the `keadm join` or installation process when `keadm` extracts downloaded component archives. ## Impact An attacker who can cause an affected `keadm` process to extract a malicious archive may write or overwrite files outside the intended destination directory with the privileges of the user running `keadm`. On Windows edge nodes, this may allow modification of configuration files, executable files, service-related files, or other writable system locations. Depending on the overwritten file and the privileges of the `keadm` process, successful exploitation could lead to persistent system modification or code execution. Exploitation requires the attacker to influence the contents of an archive processed by `keadm`, such as through a compromised, replaced, or otherwise untrusted download source. ## Patches The extraction logic now: * resolves the destination directory to an absolute path; * rejects empty archive entry names; * normalizes Windows-style path separators before validation; * rejects parent-directory traversal paths; * rejects absolute and Windows drive-prefixed paths; * uses `filepath-securejoin` to ensure extracted files remain within the destination directory. Fixes are planned for the following maintained releases: * v1.23.1 * v1.22.2 * v1.21.2 ## Workarounds Until a patched release is available: * only install or join edge nodes using trusted KubeEdge package sources; * verify the integrity and origin of downloaded archives before extraction; * do not use custom or untrusted component archives with `keadm`; * restrict write permissions and administrative privileges for the account running `keadm`; * avoid performing Windows edge-node installation or join operations when the package source cannot be trusted. ## Credits KubeEdge thanks Sang-Hoon Choi ([KoreaSecurity](https://github.com/KoreaSecurity), Sejong University) for responsibly reporting this issue and for coordinating with the KubeEdge maintainers through the security disclosure process.

Source published

22 Sep 2026 20:36:59 UTC

Source modified

1 Oct 2026 20:55:52 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H

Publisher rating · HIGH

KubeEdge: keadm DecompressTarGz path traversal enables arbitrary file write on Windows during edge node join in github.com/kubeedge/kubeedge

Source published

1 Oct 2026 20:23:38 UTC

Source modified

1 Oct 2026 20:45:13 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

OSV · upstream source license applies

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · OSV · upstream source license applies. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.