kyverno apicall servicecall implicit bearer token injection leaks kyverno serviceaccount token
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-922.
Summary
Kyverno is a policy engine designed for cloud native platform engineering teams. Prior to 1.16.4, kyverno’s apiCall servicecall helper implicitly injects Authorization: Bearer ... using the kyverno controller serviceaccount token when a policy does not explicitly set an Authorization header. Because context.apiCall.service.url is policy-controlled, this can send the kyverno serviceaccount token to an attacker-controlled endpoint (confused deputy). Namespaced policies are blocked from servicecall usage by the namespaced urlPath gate in pkg/engine/apicall/apiCall.go, so this report is scoped to ClusterPolicy and global context usage. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.16.4.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kyverno | kyverno | before 1.16.4 | 1.16.4 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | github.com/kyverno/kyverno (Go) | before 1.17.0 | 1.17.0 | Patch available | GHSA-q93q-v844-jrqp |
- kyverno Vendorkyverno Affected before 1.16.4 Fixed in 1.16.4 Patch available CNA
- github.com/kyverno/kyverno (Go) Vendor— Affected before 1.17.0 Fixed in 1.17.0 Patch available GHSA-q93q-v844-jrqp
Remediation
- Fix · CNA kyverno (kyverno) Fixed in 1.16.4
- Fix · GHSA-q93q-v844-jrqp github.com/kyverno/kyverno (Go) Fixed in 1.17.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-40868
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-q93q-v844-jrqp
References
More Kyverno vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-17733 Kyverno Cross-Namespace Privilege Escalation via Policy apiCall CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2026-29924 Kyverno: ServiceAccount token leaked to external servers via apiCall service URL CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2025-21189 Kyverno ignores subjectRegExp and IssuerRegExp CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.0
- TI-2026-30072 Kyverno Controller Denial of Service via forEach Mutation Panic CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.7
- TI-2026-29707 Kyverno: Cross-Namespace Read Bypasses RBAC Isolation (CVE-2026-22039 Incomplete Fix) CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.7
- TI-2026-19239 Kyverno Denial of Service via Context Variable Amplification in Policy Engine CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-40868 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-40868 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-q93q-v844-jrqp · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences