Vulnerabilities in pkg:golang/github.com/k3s-io/k3s

PACKAGE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-jxr7-mqhw-9p98
Share
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-54250 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.8) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting K3s libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves zip archive path traversal vulnerability in etcd snapshot decompression. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.35.3, 1.34.6, 1.33.10.

3 Known Advisory Record(s)
Package Vulnerability Intelligence

pkg:golang/github.com/k3s-io/k3s

3 Known Advisory Record(s)

Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:golang/github.com/k3s-io/k3s. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.

Advisory ID CVE / NVD Severity Summary
GHSA-jxr7-mqhw-9p98 CVE-2026-54250 MODERATE K3s: ZIP Archive Path Traversal Vulnerability in etcd Snapshot Decompression
GHSA-864f-7xjm-2jp2 CVE-2025-46599 MODERATE CNCF K3s Kubernetes kubelet configuration exposes credentials
GHSA-m4hf-6vgr-75r2 CVE-2023-32187 HIGH K3s apiserver port is vulnerable to unauthenticated remote denial-of-service (DoS) attack via TLS SAN stuffing attack

CVE-2026-54250 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-54250
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jxr7-mqhw-9p98
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.8
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product K3s
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.8

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2026-54250

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected K3s 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/k3s-io/k3s fixed: 1.35.3 
Upgrade github.com/k3s-io/k3s to 1.35.3
github.com/k3s-io/k3s fixed: 1.34.6 
Upgrade github.com/k3s-io/k3s to 1.34.6
github.com/k3s-io/k3s fixed: 1.33.10 
Upgrade github.com/k3s-io/k3s to 1.33.10
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/k3s-io/k3s

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-54250, inspect your project dependencies for K3s:

inspect dependencies for github.com/k3s-io/k3s

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of K3s in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.35.3), 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-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In K3s, 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

#### Summary A path traversal vulnerability exists in K3s's etcd snapshot decompression functionality. Zip files containing archive members with maliciously crafted names (e.g., `../../../../etc/password`) can be written to arbitrary locations on the filesystem when an administrator restores the archive as a compressed etcd snapshot. #### Mitigations * Enable golang's built-in [insecure path protections](https://pkg.go.dev/archive/zip#NewReader) when restoring snapshots by setting the`GODEBUG` environment variable: ```bash GODEBUG=zipinsecurepath=0 k3s server --cluster-reset --cluster-reset-restore-path=/path/to/snapshot.zip ``` * Manually extract the snapshot from the zip archive before restoring it. If the snapshot to be restored does not end with `.zip`, the vulnerable extraction code will not be executed. #### Additional Notes Administrators should be aware of the cautions noted in the "Security" section of the documentation on [Restoring Snapshots](https://docs.k3s.io/cli/etcd-snapshot#security).

CVE-2026-54250 Affected K3s Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.35.31.34.61.33.10
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/k3s-io/k3s
golang/github.com/k3s-io/k3s
Go
≥ 1.35.0-rc1
< 1.35.3
1.35.3
github.com/k3s-io/k3s
golang/github.com/k3s-io/k3s
Go
≥ 1.34.0-rc1
< 1.34.6
1.34.6
github.com/k3s-io/k3s
golang/github.com/k3s-io/k3s
Go
< 1.33.10
1.33.10

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/security/advisories/GHSA-jxr7-mqhw-9p98
NVD — CVE-2026-54250 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54250
K3s Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-54250?
CVE-2026-54250 is a security vulnerability in K3s involving ZIP Archive Path Traversal Vulnerability in etcd Snapshot Decompression under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which K3s versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.35.3, 1.34.6, 1.33.10 across affected packages: github.com/k3s-io/k3s.
What version fixes CVE-2026-54250?
Upgrading to 1.35.3, 1.34.6, 1.33.10 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/k3s-io/k3s affected?
Yes, github.com/k3s-io/k3s is affected in releases prior to 1.35.3, 1.34.6, 1.33.10. Upgrade your dependency to 1.35.3, 1.34.6, 1.33.10 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-54250?
CVE-2026-54250 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.8 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-54250?
CVE-2026-54250 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2026-54250?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/k3s-io/k3s'. 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 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-jxr7-mqhw-9p98",
  "modified" : "2026-07-14T17:54:14Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-14T17:54:14Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-54250" ],
  "summary" : "K3s: ZIP Archive Path Traversal Vulnerability in etcd Snapshot Decompression",
  "details" : "#### Summary\n\nA path traversal vulnerability exists in K3s's etcd snapshot decompression functionality. Zip files containing archive members with maliciously crafted names (e.g., `../../../../etc/password`) can be written to arbitrary locations on the filesystem when an administrator restores the archive as a compressed etcd snapshot.\n\n#### Mitigations\n\n* Enable golang's built-in [insecure path protections](https://pkg.go.dev/archive/zip#NewReader) when restoring snapshots by setting the`GODEBUG` environment variable:\n    ```bash\n    GODEBUG=zipinsecurepath=0 k3s server --cluster-reset --cluster-reset-restore-path=/path/to/snapshot.zip\n    ```\n* Manually extract the snapshot from the zip archive before restoring it. If the snapshot to be restored does not end with `.zip`, the vulnerable extraction code will not be executed.\n\n#### Additional Notes\n\nAdministrators should be aware of the cautions noted in the \"Security\" section of the documentation on [Restoring Snapshots](https://docs.k3s.io/cli/etcd-snapshot#security).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/k3s-io/k3s"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.35.0-rc1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.35.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/k3s-io/k3s"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.34.0-rc1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.34.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/k3s-io/k3s"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.33.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/security/advisories/GHSA-jxr7-mqhw-9p98"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54250"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-14T17:54:14Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-06-25T19:16:41Z"
  }
}