How broadly exploitable is this vulnerability?

Exploitation is limited to users who already have permission to create or submit Workflows in Argo. Within that scope, any such user can attempt to bypass `templateReferencing: Strict` and obtain more powerful pod-level configurations, subject to whatever Kubernetes-level defenses are in place.

What level of access does an attacker need?

An attacker must be able to create Workflow resources in a namespace managed by Argo Workflows. They do not necessarily need cluster-admin privileges; ordinary tenant or application roles that allow Workflow submission can be sufficient if no additional Kubernetes policies block the escalated configuration.

What is the safest general fix pattern for this issue?

The safest pattern is to ensure that pod-level privilege controls are enforced at the Kubernetes layer through PodSecurity standards or policy engines, while treating Argo's Strict mode as a supplemental guardrail. Additionally, authorization logic should be updated so that all privilege-sensitive fields in the pod spec are either explicitly constrained or denied when workflows are submitted by non-privileged users.

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(8.1)

Authorization Bypass of TemplateReferencing Strict Mode (CWE-863) in Argo Workflows

CVE-2026-42296

Published:

May 8, 2026

Status:

Received

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

NDV

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Vulnerability Type

Category:

Authorization Bypass / Access Control Misconfiguration

CWE:

CWE-863

Impact:

Privilege Escalation and Security Control Bypass

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(8.1)

CVSS Version:

3.1

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Authorization Bypass / Access Control Misconfiguration

CWE:

CWE-863

Impact:

Privilege Escalation and Security Control Bypass

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(8.1)

CVSS Version:

3.1

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Authorization Bypass of TemplateReferencing Strict Mode (CWE-863) in Argo Workflows

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

Recent Vulnerabilities

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(8.8)

PHP Code Injection via File Upload (CWE-94) in Aero CMS Admin Post Creation

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(8.8)

Code Injection (CWE-94) via Module Parameters in Evolution CMS

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Catch This CVE While Code Is Being Written

Ship clean & secure code faster

Ship clean & secure code faster

Ship clean & secure code faster

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