CVE-2026-73499
CVE-2026-73499 — etcd: Watch API authorization bypass via open-ended range requests
etcd is a distributed key-value store for the data of a distributed system. Prior to versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1, a user granted READ permission on a single exact key can use the Watch gRPC API with clientv3.WithFromKey() to receive watch events for every key lexicographically greater than or equal to the permitted key. In server/etcdserver/api/v3rpc/watch.go, the open-ended RangeEnd sentinel is rewritten before the RBAC permission check in server/auth/range_perm_cache.go function isRangeOpPermitted, causing the request to be treated as an exact-key watch. Range/Get and DeleteRange requests are not affected, and the issue affects only clusters with authentication enabled. This issue is fixed in versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1.
Published Updated Sources: cvelistV5, GitHub_M
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.
Exploitation
Unreported
no source claims exploitation
EPSS
0%
chance of exploitation in 30 days
CVSS base
7.1
HIGH
CISA SSVC assessment
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component
Affected scope
The catalog records vendors and products as separate lists, not pairs, so which product belongs to which vendor is not something this page can say.
Vendors (1)
Products (1)
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | — | — | cvelistV5 |
Weakness & attack patterns
- CWE-863
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.
- Search application, proxy, and WAF logs for requests touching /etcdserver/api/v3rpc/watch.go, /auth/range_perm_cache.go, /Get.
References
8 on the record
- github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-xg4h-6gfc-h4m8
x_refsource_CONFIRM
- github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/6643f80602461a6095c9b294b6512fd9719bef41
x_refsource_MISC
- github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/7cf71ec9e2ec54230a5454392fa4ffd4574b41ed
x_refsource_MISC
- github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/afeaa624da19085b47fb5ccc7c22a8c421bc2eae
x_refsource_MISC
- github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/e863b001bbf3367003a543aa3099db9892134cd7
x_refsource_MISC
- github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.5.33
x_refsource_MISC
- github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.6.14
x_refsource_MISC
- github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.7.1
x_refsource_MISC
Elsewhere on this site
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.