CVE-2026-25518
5.9 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2026-25518 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting cert-manager cert-manager. It was published on February 4, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
cert-manager adds certificates and certificate issuers as resource types in Kubernetes clusters, and simplifies the process of obtaining, renewing and using those certificates. In versions from 1.18.0 to before 1.18.5 and from 1.19.0 to before 1.19.3, the cert-manager-controller performs DNS lookups during ACME DNS-01 processing (for zone discovery and propagation self-checks). By default, these lookups use standard unencrypted DNS. An attacker who can intercept and modify DNS traffic from the cert-manager-controller pod can insert a crafted entry into cert-manager's DNS cache. Accessing this entry will trigger a panic, resulting in denial‑of‑service (DoS) of the cert-manager controller. The issue can also be exploited if the authoritative DNS server for the domain being validated is controlled by a malicious actor. This issue has been patched in versions 1.18.5 and 1.19.3.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cert-manager. Update cert-manager 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| cert-manager | cert-manager | >= 1.18.0, < 1.18.5 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-25518?
CVE-2026-25518 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting cert-manager cert-manager. It was published on February 4, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2026-25518?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.9, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-25518?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from cert-manager. Update cert-manager 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-2026-25518?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-25518 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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