CVE-2025-62879 in Rancher
Summary
by MITRE • 03/04/2026
A vulnerability has been identified within the Rancher Backup Operator, resulting in the leakage of S3 tokens (both accessKey and secretKey) into the rancher-backup-operator pod's logs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/06/2026
The vulnerability identified in CVE-2025-62879 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within the Rancher Backup Operator ecosystem, specifically affecting containerized backup operations in kubernetes environments. This issue manifests when the operator processes S3 backup configurations, inadvertently logging sensitive authentication credentials including both access keys and secret keys directly into the pod's operational logs. The root cause stems from improper handling of credential data during backup configuration processing, where authentication parameters are not adequately sanitized or redacted before being written to log output streams. This vulnerability directly violates security best practices for credential management and represents a significant risk to organizations relying on Rancher's backup capabilities for their infrastructure protection.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs during the backup operator's initialization and execution phases when it processes S3 connection parameters. When the operator encounters backup configurations that include S3 credentials, it fails to properly mask or remove these sensitive values from log messages that are subsequently written to the pod's stdout and stderr streams. The logging mechanism does not implement credential sanitization procedures, allowing the complete credential set to be exposed in plaintext format within the container logs. This behavior creates a persistent exposure window where unauthorized personnel with access to the pod's log files can extract complete authentication credentials. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects the operational logs of the backup operator pod, which are typically accessible through standard kubernetes monitoring and logging solutions, making the credentials easily discoverable through routine administrative activities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential exposure, creating cascading security risks that can compromise entire backup infrastructure and potentially lead to broader system breaches. An attacker who gains access to the rancher-backup-operator pod logs can immediately obtain complete S3 authentication credentials, enabling them to access and manipulate backup data stored in the associated S3 buckets. This exposure could result in data loss, unauthorized data access, or even data exfiltration through backup restoration operations. The vulnerability also creates audit trail complications as legitimate administrators may inadvertently expose credentials through normal operational logging practices, making it difficult to distinguish between legitimate and malicious credential usage. Organizations using Rancher Backup Operator for critical data protection may face compliance violations under various regulatory frameworks including soc 2, iso 27001, and pci dss standards due to the improper handling of sensitive authentication information. This issue directly maps to CWE-209, Information Exposure Through an Error Message, and CWE-532, Information Exposure Through Log Data, while also aligning with ATT&CK technique T1567.002 for credential access through backup and restore operations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of credential sanitization procedures within the Rancher Backup Operator codebase. Organizations should implement log filtering mechanisms to redact S3 credential information before writing to operational logs, ensuring that access keys and secret keys are replaced with placeholder values or completely omitted from log output. The operator should be configured to use environment variables or secret management systems that do not expose credentials through logging mechanisms. Additionally, organizations should implement comprehensive log access controls and monitoring to detect unauthorized access to pod logs containing sensitive information. Regular security audits should be conducted to ensure that credential handling practices meet industry standards and that logging mechanisms properly sanitize sensitive data. The fix should include proper input validation and credential handling protocols that prevent plaintext credential exposure in any operational output streams, aligning with security frameworks such as NIST 800-53 and CIS benchmarks for containerized environments. Organizations should also consider implementing automated credential rotation procedures and monitoring systems that can detect credential exposure in log files, providing immediate alerting when sensitive information is found in operational logs.