Authenticated code execution via header configuration injection
Published Feb 6, 2026 · Updated Feb 6, 2026
Configuration injection in Kubernetes ingress-nginx before 1.12.5 or 1.13.1 allows remote authenticated users to execute controller code. The controller copies untrusted header data from the ConfigMap referenced by nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-proxy-set-headers into generated nginx configuration without blocking directive-breaking content. Creating or modifying an Ingress and its referenced ConfigMap is required; execution runs as the controller and can expose every cluster Secret accessible to it.
Summary
What happened
Configuration injection in Kubernetes ingress-nginx before 1.12.5 or 1.13.1 allows remote authenticated users to execute controller code. The controller copies untrusted header data from the ConfigMap referenced by nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-proxy-set-headers into generated nginx configuration without blocking directive-breaking content. Creating or modifying an Ingress and its referenced ConfigMap is required; execution runs as the controller and can expose every cluster Secret accessible to it.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-15566
- Published
- Feb 6, 2026
- Updated
- Feb 6, 2026
- Vendor
- Kubernetes
- Product
- ingress-nginx
- Classifications
- CWE-20, T1068
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 6, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <1.12.5
- Affected versionversion=0 <1.13.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo