CVE-2026-54523Kyverno: NamespacedGeneratingPolicy generator.apply() namespace argument unvalidated -- background controller creates RoleBindings in any namespace including kube-system
- 9.6CriticalCVSS base score
- 0.47%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 59% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- YesPublic exploitsa reference or SSVC says so
Description
Kyverno is a policy engine designed for cloud native platform engineering teams. From 1.18.0 until 1.18.2, the NamespacedMutatingPolicy CEL compiler exposes the generator library to matchConditions, allowing a namespace-scoped policy to invoke generator.apply(namespace, resources) with an arbitrary target namespace. The validation in pkg/cel/policies/mpol/validate.go checks that the policy compiles but does not enforce namespace scope, and GenerateResources in pkg/cel/libs/context.go does not reject the cross-namespace target. A user who can create NamespacedMutatingPolicy objects in one namespace can cause the admission controller, operating with cluster-wide privileges, to create ConfigMaps, NetworkPolicies, Secrets, RoleBindings, and other resources in another namespace, enabling unauthorized modification and potential privilege escalation. This issue is fixed in version 1.18.2.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. A reference of the record is tagged as an exploit. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: a proof of concept is public.
Show the exploits1
References tagged exploit1 reference
- https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno/security/advisories/GHSA-79gf-7frw-68m9 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMexploit
Timeline
ID reserved
By GitHub_M
- 2 months later
· 2 months later
Published
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_MCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Critical9.6 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N |
| NVDNVD · Deferred | 3.1 | Critical9.6 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.47% · top 59% of all CVEs (12 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: poc · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.6.
Affected products
Affected packages
From reviewed advisories of the GitHub Advisory Database.
- Gogithub.com/kyverno/kyvernoGHSA-79gf-7frw-68m9 (opens in a new tab)
References
References6
- https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno/security/advisories/GHSA-79gf-7frw-68m9 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMexploit
- https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno/pull/16238 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno/commit/0919553c0ea1904f8d891280c92018da97946a06 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno/commit/5164bcdeda5b57678bc2d7a03ecc2cbb02982dae (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/kyverno/sdk/commit/6573937441443e1ba5af9fbb28d5c0f20297f9df (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno/releases/tag/v1.18.2 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2026-66561 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-79gf-7frw-68m9 (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2026-54523)Record last updated .