Kyverno: Cross-Namespace Read Bypasses RBAC Isolation (CVE-2026-22039 Incomplete Fix)

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

7.7 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS

• CVE-2026-41068: 0.27% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 18.86 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary CVE-2026-22039 fixed cross-namespace privilege escalation in Kyverno's apiCall context by validating the URLPath field. However, the ConfigMap context loader has the identical vulnerability — the configMap.namespace field accepts any namespace with zero validation, allowing a namespace admin to read ConfigMaps from any namespace using Kyverno's privileged service account. This is a complete RBAC bypass in multi-tenant Kubernetes clusters. Details Root cause: The CVE-2026-22039 fix in pkg/engine/apicall/apiCall.go (lines 73-83) validates that URLPath references only the policy's own namespace using regex. However, the ConfigMap context loader at pkg/engine/context/loaders/configmap.go performs no namespace validation on the namespace field. Code path comparison: | | CVE-2026-22039 (fixed) | This vulnerability (unfixed) | |--|---|---| | Location | apiCall.URLPath field | configMap.namespace field | | Code path | apicall.Fetch() → namespace regex validation |…

Published by the source

16 Apr 2026, 21:35 UTC

Last modified by the source

24 Apr 2026, 20:41 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-cvq5-hhx3-f99p

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-41068

Advisory: Kyverno: Cross-Namespace Read Bypasses RBAC Isolation (CVE-2026-22039 Incomplete Fix)
IDs: CVE-2026-41068, GHSA-cvq5-hhx3-f99p
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-41068 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor response not established. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/kyverno/kyverno: affected <= 1.17.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/kyverno/kyverno: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/kyverno/kyverno.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cvq5-hhx3-f99p (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-cvq5-hhx3-f99p lists affected ranges: Go github.com/kyverno/kyverno >=0 <=1.17.1)

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