Distribution affected by pull-through cache credential exfiltration via www-authenticate bearer realm
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-918 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
Distribution is a toolkit to pack, ship, store, and deliver container content. Prior to 3.1.0, in pull-through cache mode, distribution discovers token auth endpoints by parsing WWW-Authenticate challenges returned by the configured upstream registry. The realm URL from a bearer challenge is used without validating that it matches the upstream registry host. As a result, an attacker-controlled upstream (or an attacker with MitM position to the upstream) can cause distribution to send the configured upstream credentials via basic auth to an attacker-controlled realm URL. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.1.0.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| distribution | distribution | before 3.1.0 | 3.1.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | github.com/distribution/distribution/v3 (Go) | before 3.1.0 | 3.1.0 | Patch available | GHSA-3p65-76g6-3w7r |
| — | github.com/distribution/distribution (Go) | up to 2.8.3 | — | No fix listed | GHSA-3p65-76g6-3w7r |
- distribution Vendordistribution Affected before 3.1.0 Fixed in 3.1.0 Patch available CNA
- github.com/distribution/distribution/v3 (Go) Vendor— Affected before 3.1.0 Fixed in 3.1.0 Patch available GHSA-3p65-76g6-3w7r
- github.com/distribution/distribution (Go) Vendor— Affected up to 2.8.3 Fixed in — No fix listed GHSA-3p65-76g6-3w7r
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:distribution_project:distribution:*:*:*:*:*:go:*:* | before 3.1.0 | Vulnerable | Distribution Project |
- cpe:2.3:a:distribution_project:distribution:*:*:*:*:*:go:*:* Versions before 3.1.0 Vulnerable ·Distribution Project
Remediation
- Fix · CNA distribution (distribution) Fixed in 3.1.0
- Fix · GHSA-3p65-76g6-3w7r github.com/distribution/distribution/v3 (Go) Fixed in 3.1.0 Advisory →
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2026:37387 Released 2026-07-09 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat OpenShift Data Foundation 4.22.0 security, enhancement & bug fix update
- Red Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.22 registry.redhat.io/odf4/cephcsi-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/odf4/cephcsi-rhel9-operator, registry.redhat.io/odf4/devicefinder-rhel9 +24
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.22 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:37387 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.22
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-33540
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-3p65-76g6-3w7r
References
More distribution vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-27326 Distribution has stale blob access resurrection via repo-scoped redis descriptor cache invalidation CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2025-18656 Distribution's token authentication allows attacker to inject an untrusted signing key in a JWT CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.6
- TI-2026-30291 Distribution: Tag deletion bypasses `storage.delete.enabled` configuration CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.3
- TI-2026-71920 Distribution client does not verify manifest content against digest CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-33540 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-33540 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-3p65-76g6-3w7r · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-33540 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences