CVE-2026-22039

What it is

Kyverno is a policy engine designed for cloud native platform engineering teams. Versions prior to 1.16.3 and 1.15.3 have a critical authorization boundary bypass in namespaced Kyverno Policy apiCall. The resolved `urlPath` is executed using the Kyverno admission controller ServiceAccount, with no enforcement that the request is limited to the policy’s namespace. As a result, any authenticated user with permission to create a namespaced Policy can cause Kyverno to perform Kubernetes API requests using Kyverno’s admission controller identity, targeting any API path allowed by that ServiceAccount’s RBAC. This breaks namespace isolation by enabling cross-namespace reads (for example, ConfigMaps and, where permitted, Secrets) and allows cluster-scoped or cross-namespace writes (for example, creating ClusterPolicies) by controlling the urlPath through context variable substitution. Versions 1.16.3 and 1.15.3 contain a patch for the vulnerability.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network with a low-privilege account. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.6% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-01-27 17:16 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 10:19 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.6% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 9.9 CRITICAL (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-01-27 17:16 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 10:19 UTC

Exploit probability

0.6% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-269 · Improper privilege management

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Kyverno < 1.15.3
• Kyverno < 1.16.3

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 9.9

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

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