CVE-2026-122302: kyverno Privilege Escalation — Fix

Description

Kyverno before 1.19.2 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows namespace admins to create resources beyond their RBAC because generate-rule admission checks verify the controller's permissions, not the author's. Attackers can create a namespaced Policy with generate rules targeting other namespaces or cluster-scoped kinds, making the background controller create or clone resources cluster-wide.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

9.8

CRITICAL

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

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0028

Probability of exploitation

0.21%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-269 CWE-269

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
kyverno	kyverno	< 1.19.2

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/kyverno/kyverno/security/advisories/GHSA-q62c-r9v2-cf64 https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/kyverno-before-1.19.2-privilege-escalation-via-generate-rule-permission-check

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-122302? +

Kyverno before 1.19.2 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows namespace admins to create resources beyond their RBAC because generate-rule admission checks verify the controller's permissions, not the author's. Attackers can create a namespaced Policy with generate rules targeting other namespaces or cluster-scoped kinds, making the background controller create or clone resources cluster-wide. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-122302? +

CVE-2026-122302 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 out of 10, rated CRITICAL. This is a critical vulnerability that should be patched immediately. The EPSS score is 0.0028, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-122302? +

CVE-2026-122302 affects products from kyverno, specifically: kyverno. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-122302? +

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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