CVE-2025-47283 is a critical flaw (CVSS 9.9) in Gardener, the Kubernetes cluster management project. A user with admin rights on a Gardener project could gain control of the seed clusters that host their shoot clusters. Fixed in 1.116.4, 1.117.5, 1.118.2 and 1.119.0.
What's affected
The record says Gardener before 1.116.4, 1.117.5, 1.118.2 and 1.119.0 is affected. The affected component is gardener/gardener, and the GitHub advisory lists the Go module github.com/gardener/gardener. Each release line has its own fix:
- 1.116.x is fixed in 1.116.4
- 1.117.x is fixed in 1.117.5
- 1.118.x is fixed in 1.118.2
- 1.119 is fixed in 1.119.0
The advisory states the issue affects all Gardener installations, whichever public cloud provider hosts the seed and shoot clusters. A related record, CVE-2025-47284, covers the gardenlet component and has the same fixed versions, so one upgrade covers both.
How to check if you're exposed
Find the Gardener version you run. If you operate Gardener yourself, read the image tag of the control plane components and the gardenlet in each seed. The deployment names and namespaces depend on how you installed it, so adjust this example:
kubectl -n garden get deployments -o wide
If you vendor Gardener as a Go module in your own tooling, check what your build resolves:
go list -m github.com/gardener/gardener
Compare the result with the list above. Anything below the fixed release on its line is affected. If you consume Gardener as a managed service, ask your provider which version they run and whether they have applied the fix.
The attacker in this scenario already holds admin rights on a project, so the people with that role are your exposure. List them and ask whether each one still needs it.
What to do now
- Identify every Gardener installation you run or depend on.
- Upgrade to the fixed release on your line: 1.116.4, 1.117.5, 1.118.2 or 1.119.0, or any later version.
- Roll the new gardenlet out to every seed, not only the garden cluster.
- Review who holds administrative rights on Gardener projects and remove access that is no longer needed.
- Read the advisory for anything specific to your setup, since the advisory text is the authority on scope and mitigation.
The advisory's only mitigation is to update to a fixed version. It names no workaround.
Why it matters
The record maps the flaw to CWE-20, improper input validation. In practice this is a privilege boundary problem. Gardener separates the people who manage shoot clusters from the seed clusters that run them. A project admin should stay on their side of that line, and this flaw let one cross it.
The CVSS vector explains the 9.9. It is a network attack with low complexity, low privileges and no user interaction, and the scope is changed, meaning the impact lands outside the component that was attacked. Confidentiality, integrity and availability are all rated high. A seed cluster hosts the control planes of many shoots, so control of one is control of a lot.
This CVE is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list, and nothing in the advisory says it is exploited in the wild. The risk comes from the blast radius, not from known attacks.
Quick check
Do I need to be a project admin to abuse this?
Yes. The advisory describes a user with administrative privileges for a Gardener project. The CVSS vector sets privileges required to low.
Is one upgrade enough for both Gardener CVEs?
Both CVE-2025-47283 and CVE-2025-47284 list the same fixed versions, so upgrading to 1.116.4, 1.117.5, 1.118.2 or 1.119.0 covers both on the matching release line.
To see which of your projects pull in affected modules, try the free in-browser scan at gold.safeguard.sh/scan.
Sources
Last reviewed: 18 October 2026.
