CVE-2026-55225: Privilege Escalation (CVSS 8)

Description

Strimzi provides a way to run an Apache Kafka cluster on Kubernetes or OpenShift in various deployment configurations. In Strimzi 1.0.0 and earlier, an attacker who can create a Kafka custom resource can set Kafka.spec.entityOperator watchedNamespace to a target namespace, causing the Cluster Operator to create a Role with full Secret CRUD permissions there and bind it to the Entity Operator ServiceAccount in the attacker's namespace. The attacker can mint a token for that ServiceAccount and read or write Secrets in any target namespace where the Cluster Operator has been granted permissions, regardless of STRIMZI_NAMESPACE. This issue is fixed in versions 1.0.1 and 1.1.0.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

8.0

HIGH

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

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0017

Probability of exploitation

0.06%

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

CWE-441 CWE-441

CWE-250 CWE-250

References

Other References

https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/commit/b3bfeffcc30754c3e62e6f4afd8a76942cac440d https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/commit/f6c5207ba7ec89b46ce6720b8638d647e556a261 https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/pull/12844 https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/releases/tag/1.0.1 https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/releases/tag/1.1.0 https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/security/advisories/GHSA-mw9r-p8xp-wx96 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54435 https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-55225 https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2490275 https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-55225.json

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-55225? +

Strimzi provides a way to run an Apache Kafka cluster on Kubernetes or OpenShift in various deployment configurations. In Strimzi 1.0.0 and earlier, an attacker who can create a Kafka custom resource can set Kafka.spec.entityOperator watchedNamespace to a target namespace, causing the Cluster Operator to create a Role with full Secret CRUD permissions there and bind it to the Entity Operator ServiceAccount in the attacker's namespace. The attacker can mint a token for that ServiceAccount and read or write Secrets in any target namespace where the Cluster Operator has been granted permissions, regardless of STRIMZI_NAMESPACE. This issue is fixed in versions 1.0.1 and 1.1.0. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.0 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-55225? +

CVE-2026-55225 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.0 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0017, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-55225? +

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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