How severe is CVE-2026-42876?

CVE-2026-42876 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.9, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity low, and availability none.

Is CVE-2026-42876 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (12th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2026-42876?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

Does CVE-2026-42876 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2026-42876 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-29191.

When was CVE-2026-42876 published?

CVE-2026-42876 was published on 2026-05-11 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2026-42876

CVE-2026-42876 is a medium-severity vulnerability with a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.9. 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-285.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 4.9)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (12th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2026-29191
Weakness: CWE-285
Published: 2026-05-11
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

External Secrets Operator reads information from a third-party service and automatically injects the values as Kubernetes Secrets. Prior to 2.4.1, a user who only has permission to create ExternalSecret resources can cause the operator to create a Secret that Kubernetes will automatically populate with a long-lived token for the specified service account. This effectively allows the user to impersonate any service account in the namespace without needing direct create permissions on TokenRequest or Secrets of that type. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.4.1.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-42876?: External Secrets Operator reads information from a third-party service and automatically injects the values as Kubernetes Secrets. Prior to 2.4.1, a user who only has permission to create ExternalSecret resources can cause the operator to create a Secret that Kubernetes will automatically populate with a long-lived token for the specified service account. This effectively allows the user to impersonate any service account in the namespace without needing direct create permissions on TokenRequest or Secrets of that type. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.4.1.
How severe is CVE-2026-42876?: CVE-2026-42876 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.9, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity low, and availability none.
Is CVE-2026-42876 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (12th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-42876?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2026-42876 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2026-42876 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-29191.
When was CVE-2026-42876 published?: CVE-2026-42876 was published on 2026-05-11 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Other CWE-285 (Improper Authorization) vulnerabilities

CVE-2025-65041 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Improper authorization in Microsoft Partner Center allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
CVE-2023-33189 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Pomerium is an identity and context-aware access proxy. With specially crafted requests, incorrect authorization…
CVE-2022-2595 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Improper Authorization in GitHub repository kromitgmbh/titra prior to 0.79.1.
CVE-2021-28799 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An improper authorization vulnerability has been reported to affect QNAP NAS running HBS 3 (Hybrid Backup Sync. ) If…
CVE-2026-34048 — Critical (CVSS 9.9): Coolify is an open-source and self-hostable tool for managing servers, applications, and databases. Prior to…
CVE-2026-5412 — Critical (CVSS 9.9): In Juju versions prior to 2.9.57 and 3.6.21, an authorization issue exists in the Controller facade. An authenticated…

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