CVE-2026-122304
Received Received - Intake

Kyverno Authorization Bypass via CleanupPolicy Misconfiguration

Publication date: 2026-11-05

Last updated on: 2026-11-05

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description
Kyverno from 1.17.0 before 1.19.2 contains an authorization bypass vulnerability that allows namespace admins to escape namespace confinement because the cleanup controller builds its context loader with a nil policy. Attackers can create a namespaced CleanupPolicy with apiCall or globalReference context entries to read cross-namespace Secrets and modify validatingwebhookconfigurations using the cleanup controller's ServiceAccount.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-11-05
Last Modified
2026-11-05
Generated
2026-11-05
AI Q&A
2026-11-05
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-122304
EUVD
EUVD-2026-117215

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
kyverno kyverno 1.17.0

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Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-863 The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.

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Executive Summary

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Kyverno, a Kubernetes policy engine. It allows namespace administrators to bypass namespace restrictions by creating a namespaced CleanupPolicy with specific context entries. The cleanup controller, which should enforce namespace confinement, fails to do so because it builds its context loader with a nil policy. This lets attackers read Secrets across namespaces and modify validatingwebhookconfigurations using the cleanup controller's ServiceAccount.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, check Kyverno versions between 1.17.0 and 1.19.1. Inspect CleanupPolicy resources for apiCall or globalReference context entries. Review logs for unauthorized Secrets access or validatingwebhookconfiguration modifications by the cleanup controller's ServiceAccount.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with namespace admin privileges could exploit this to read sensitive Secrets from other namespaces, modify cluster-wide configurations like validatingwebhookconfigurations, and potentially install malicious webhooks. This could lead to unauthorized access to cluster resources, privilege escalation, or even full cluster compromise if combined with other vulnerabilities.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data such as Secrets, which may contain credentials or configuration details. For GDPR, this could result in data breaches violating confidentiality requirements. For HIPAA, exposure of protected health information in Secrets could lead to compliance violations. Organizations using Kyverno in regulated environments must address this to maintain compliance.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Kyverno to version 1.19.2 or later immediately. Ensure CleanupPolicy context entries are validated and namespace confinement is enforced. Monitor for unauthorized API calls or webhook modifications.

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