CVE-2026-54523
9.6 · CRITICALOverview
CVE-2026-54523 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 26, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6 (CRITICAL).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6, 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. From 1.18.0 until 1.18.2, the NamespacedMutatingPolicy CEL compiler exposes the generator library to matchConditions, allowing a namespace-scoped policy to invoke generator.apply(namespace, resources) with an arbitrary target namespace. The validation in pkg/cel/policies/mpol/validate.go checks that the policy compiles but does not enforce namespace scope, and GenerateResources in pkg/cel/libs/context.go does not reject the cross-namespace target. A user who can create NamespacedMutatingPolicy objects in one namespace can cause the admission controller, operating with cluster-wide privileges, to create ConfigMaps, NetworkPolicies, Secrets, RoleBindings, and other resources in another namespace, enabling unauthorized modification and potential privilege escalation. This issue is fixed in version 1.18.2.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. 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.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-54523?
CVE-2026-54523 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 26, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6 (CRITICAL).
How severe is CVE-2026-54523?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6, 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-2026-54523?
Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. 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-2026-54523?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-54523 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
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