Cross-namespace secret disclosure via unscoped list calls
Published Aug 13, 2025 · Updated Aug 14, 2025
Improper access control in External Secrets Operator 0.15.0 through 0.19.1 allows remote authenticated users to read cross-namespace secrets. The PushSecret reconciler passes attacker-controlled label selectors to Kubernetes Secret and SecretStore List() calls without setting ps.Namespace. Exploitation requires permission to create or update PushSecret resources and control SecretStore configurations, exposing credentials and tokens from arbitrary namespaces.
Summary
What happened
Improper access control in External Secrets Operator 0.15.0 through 0.19.1 allows remote authenticated users to read cross-namespace secrets. The PushSecret reconciler passes attacker-controlled label selectors to Kubernetes Secret and SecretStore List() calls without setting ps.Namespace. Exploitation requires permission to create or update PushSecret resources and control SecretStore configurations, exposing credentials and tokens from arbitrary namespaces.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-55196
- Published
- Aug 13, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 14, 2025
- Vendor
- External Secrets
- Product
- External Secrets Operator
- Classifications
- CWE-284, T1555
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 13, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 14, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=>= 0.15.0, < 0.19.2
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.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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