CVE-2026-23990

CVE-2026-23990 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Control-plane Flux Operator with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-269.

Key facts

Description

The Flux Operator is a Kubernetes CRD controller that manages the lifecycle of CNCF Flux CD and the ControlPlane enterprise distribution. Starting in version 0.36.0 and prior to version 0.40.0, a privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Flux Operator Web UI authentication code that allows an attacker to bypass Kubernetes RBAC impersonation and execute API requests with the operator's service account privileges. In order to be vulnerable, cluster admins must configure the Flux Operator with an OIDC provider that issues tokens lacking the expected claims (e.g., `email`, `groups`), or configure custom CEL expressions that can evaluate to empty values. After OIDC token claims are processed through CEL expressions, there is no validation that the resulting `username` and `groups` values are non-empty. When both values are empty, the Kubernetes client-go library does not add impersonation headers to API requests, causing them to be executed with the flux-operator service account's credentials instead of the authenticated user's limited permissions. This can result in privilege escalation, data exposure, and/or information disclosure. Version 0.40.0 patches the issue.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23990?
The Flux Operator is a Kubernetes CRD controller that manages the lifecycle of CNCF Flux CD and the ControlPlane enterprise distribution. Starting in version 0.36.0 and prior to version 0.40.0, a privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Flux Operator Web UI authentication code that allows an attacker to bypass Kubernetes RBAC impersonation and execute API requests with the operator's service account privileges. In order to be vulnerable, cluster admins must configure the Flux Operator with an OIDC provider that issues tokens lacking the expected claims (e.g., `email`, `groups`), or configure custom CEL expressions that can evaluate to empty values. After OIDC token claims are processed through CEL expressions, there is no validation that the resulting `username` and `groups` values are non-empty. When both values are empty, the Kubernetes client-go library does not add impersonation headers to API requests, causing them to be executed with the flux-operator service account's credentials instead of the authenticated user's limited permissions. This can result in privilege escalation, data exposure, and/or information disclosure. Version 0.40.0 patches the issue.
How severe is CVE-2026-23990?
CVE-2026-23990 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity none, and availability none.
Is CVE-2026-23990 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (22nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-23990?
CVE-2026-23990 affects Control-plane Flux Operator. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-23990?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2026-23990 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2026-23990 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-4140.
When was CVE-2026-23990 published?
CVE-2026-23990 was published on 2026-01-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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