CVE-2025-7195: operator-sdk Privilege Escalation Due To Incorrect Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-856v-8qm2-9wjv
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CVSS 5.2
CWE-276
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-7195 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.2) privilege escalation due to incorrect vulnerability (CWE-276: Incorrect Default Permissions) affecting operator-sdk libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves privilege escalation due to incorrect permissions of /etc/passwd. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.15.2.

CVE-2025-7195 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-7195
GHSA Identifier GHSA-856v-8qm2-9wjv
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.2
CWE Classification CWE-276: Incorrect Default Permissions
Affected Product operator-sdk
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.2

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2025-7195

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected operator-sdk dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk fixed: 0.15.2 
Upgrade github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk to 0.15.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-7195, inspect your project dependencies for operator-sdk:

inspect dependencies for github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of operator-sdk in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.15.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-276: Incorrect Default Permissions, where during installation, installed file permissions are set to allow anyone to modify those files. In operator-sdk, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Early versions of Operator-SDK provided an insecure method to allow operator containers to run in environments that used a random UID. Operator-SDK before 0.15.2 provided a script, user_setup, which modifies the permissions of the /etc/passwd file to 664 during build time. Developers who used Operator-SDK before 0.15.2 to scaffold their operator may still be impacted by this if the insecure user_setup script is still being used to build new container images. In affected images, the /etc/passwd file was created during build time with group-writable permissions and a group ownership of root (gid=0). An attacker who can execute commands within an affected container, even as a non-root user, may be able to leverage their membership in the root group to modify the /etc/passwd file. This could allow the attacker to add a new user with any arbitrary UID, including UID 0, leading to full root privileges within the container.

CVE-2025-7195 Affected operator-sdk Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.15.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk
golang/github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk
Go
< 0.15.2
0.15.2

References

NVD — CVE-2025-7195 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-7195
operator-sdk Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2376300
operator-sdk Security Information SECURITY
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-7195
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2026:56... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:5633
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2026:25... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:2572
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2026:07... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:0737
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2026:07... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:0722
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2026:07... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:0718
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2026:06... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:0627
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:23... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:23542
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:23... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:23529
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:23... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:23528
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:22... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:22684
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:22... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:22683
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:22... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:22420
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:22... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:22418
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:22... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:22416
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:22... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:22415
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:21... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:21885
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:21... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:21368
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:19... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:19961
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:19... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:19958
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:19... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:19335
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2025:19... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:19332
access.redhat.com/errata/rhea-2026:01... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2026:0129
access.redhat.com/errata/rhea-2025:23... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2025:23478
access.redhat.com/errata/rhea-2025:23... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2025:23406
access.redhat.com/errata/rhba-2024:11... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2024:11569

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-7195?
CVE-2025-7195 is a security vulnerability in operator-sdk involving privilege escalation due to incorrect permissions of /etc/passwd under CWE-276: Incorrect Default Permissions.
Which operator-sdk versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.15.2 across affected packages: github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk.
What version fixes CVE-2025-7195?
Upgrading to 0.15.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk affected?
Yes, github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk is affected in releases prior to 0.15.2. Upgrade your dependency to 0.15.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-7195?
CVE-2025-7195 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.2 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-7195?
CVE-2025-7195 is classified under CWE-276: Incorrect Default Permissions (During installation, installed file permissions are set to allow anyone to modify those files.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2025-7195?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
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    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L"
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}