CVE-2026-42876 — MEDIUM (4.9)

Vulnerability Description

External Secrets Operator reads information from a third-party service and automatically injects the values as Kubernetes Secrets. Prior to 2.4.1, a user who only has permission to create ExternalSecret resources can cause the operator to create a Secret that Kubernetes will automatically populate with a long-lived token for the specified service account. This effectively allows the user to impersonate any service account in the namespace without needing direct create permissions on TokenRequest or Secrets of that type. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.4.1.

CVSS Score

4.9

MEDIUM

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

Attack Vector

NETWORK

Attack Complexity

HIGH

Privileges Required

LOW

User Interaction

NONE

Scope

CHANGED

Confidentiality

LOW

Integrity

LOW

Availability

NONE

Related Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-285

References

FAQ

What is CVE-2026-42876?

CVE-2026-42876 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 4.9 (MEDIUM). External Secrets Operator reads information from a third-party service and automatically injects the values as Kubernetes Secrets. Prior to 2.4.1, a user who only has permission to create ExternalSecr...

How severe is CVE-2026-42876?

CVE-2026-42876 has been rated MEDIUM with a CVSS base score of 4.9/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.

Is there a patch for CVE-2026-42876?

Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Review vendor security bulletins for remediation guidance.