CVE-2026-22039
9.9 · CRITICALOverview
CVE-2026-22039 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting kyverno kyverno. It was published on January 27, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9 (CRITICAL).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
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.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from kyverno. Update kyverno to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| kyverno | kyverno | >= 0, < 1.15.3 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-22039?
CVE-2026-22039 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting kyverno kyverno. It was published on January 27, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9 (CRITICAL).
How severe is CVE-2026-22039?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-22039?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from kyverno. Update kyverno to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-22039?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-22039 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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