CVE-2026-79767
Received Received - Intake

Privilege Escalation in Gardener Kubernetes Service

Publication date: 2026-09-22

Last updated on: 2026-09-22

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
Gardener implements the automated management and operation of Kubernetes clusters as a service. Prior to 1.142.6, 1.143.3, 1.144.2, and 1.145.0, the customverbauthorizer admission plugin's mustCheckProjectMembers manage-members check compares changes to User subjects but does not account for Group or ServiceAccount subjects in Project.spec.members. A project administrator who lacks manage-members permission can add arbitrary Group or ServiceAccount subjects, including the system:authenticated Group, and thereby grant broad project access. The resulting access can include Shoots, Secrets, and cloud provider credentials. This issue is fixed in versions 1.142.6, 1.143.3, 1.144.2, and 1.145.0.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-22
Last Modified
2026-09-22
Generated
2026-09-23
AI Q&A
2026-09-22
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-79767
EUVD
EUVD-2026-84821

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 8 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
gardener gardener 1.142.6
gardener gardener 1.143.3
gardener gardener 1.144.2
gardener gardener 1.145.0
gardener gardener to 1.142.6 (exc)
gardener gardener to 1.143.3 (exc)
gardener gardener to 1.144.2 (exc)
gardener gardener to 1.145.0 (exc)

Helpful Resources

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 vulnerability is an authorization bypass in Gardener, a Kubernetes management system. It occurs because the customverbauthorizer admission plugin's manage-members check only validates User subjects and ignores Group or ServiceAccount subjects in Project.spec.members. A project admin without manage-members permission can add arbitrary Group subjects, including system:authenticated, granting unintended broad project access to Secrets, Shoots, and cloud provider credentials.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, check Gardener versions prior to 1.142.6, 1.143.3, 1.144.2, and 1.145.0. Verify if the customverbauthorizer admission plugin improperly handles Group or ServiceAccount subjects in Project.spec.members by reviewing Kubernetes API logs and RBAC configurations.

Impact Analysis

If you are a Gardener user running versions before 1.142.6, 1.143.3, 1.144.2, or 1.145.0, a project admin without proper permissions could grant unauthorized access to your Kubernetes resources. This may lead to data breaches, privilege escalation, or unauthorized modifications to your clusters and sensitive data like Secrets.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, violating compliance requirements under GDPR (data protection) and HIPAA (health information). Unauthorized access may result in data breaches, unauthorized processing, or disclosure of protected information, leading to legal penalties and reputational damage.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Gardener to versions 1.142.6, 1.143.3, 1.144.2, or 1.145.0 or later. Review Project.spec.members for unauthorized Group or ServiceAccount additions, especially system:authenticated. Remove any unintended subjects and audit access permissions.

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