CVE-2023-50726: argo cd Privilege Escalation — Fix

Description

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. "Local sync" is an Argo CD feature that allows developers to temporarily override an Application's manifests with locally-defined manifests. Use of the feature should generally be limited to highly-trusted users, since it allows the user to bypass any merge protections in git. An improper validation bug allows users who have `create` privileges but not `override` privileges to sync local manifests on app creation. All other restrictions, including AppProject restrictions are still enforced. The only restriction which is not enforced is that the manifests come from some approved git/Helm/OCI source. The bug was introduced in 1.2.0-rc1 when the local manifest sync feature was added. The bug has been patched in Argo CD versions 2.10.3, 2.9.8, and 2.8.12. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may mitigate the risk of branch protection bypass by removing `applications, create` RBAC access. The only way to eliminate the issue without removing RBAC access is to upgrade to a patched version.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

6.4

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:L

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-269 CWE-269

CWE-863 Incorrect Authorization

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
argoproj	argo_cd	1.2.0 — 2.8.12
argoproj	argo_cd	2.9.0 — 2.9.7
argoproj	argo_cd	2.10.0 — 2.10.3

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/commit/3b8f673f06c2d228e01cbc830e5cb57cef008978 https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-g623-jcgg-mhmm https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/commit/3b8f673f06c2d228e01cbc830e5cb57cef008978 https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-g623-jcgg-mhmm

Other References

https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/latest/operator-manual/rbac https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/latest/operator-manual/rbac

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-50726? +

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. "Local sync" is an Argo CD feature that allows developers to temporarily override an Application's manifests with locally-defined manifests. Use of the feature should generally be limited to highly-trusted users, since it allows the user to bypass any merge protections in git. An improper validation bug allows users who have `create` privileges but not `override` privileges to sync local manifests on app creation. All other restrictions, including AppProject restrictions are still enforced. The only restriction which is not enforced is that the manifests come from some approved git/Helm/OCI source. The bug was introduced in 1.2.0-rc1 when the local manifest sync feature was added. The bug has been patched in Argo CD versions 2.10.3, 2.9.8, and 2.8.12. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may mitigate the risk of branch protection bypass by removing `applications, create` RBAC access. The only way to eliminate the issue without removing RBAC access is to upgrade to a patched version. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.4 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2023-50726? +

CVE-2023-50726 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.4 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-50726? +

CVE-2023-50726 affects products from argoproj, specifically: argo_cd. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-50726? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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