CVE-2026-34984Network attack vector

Secret exfiltration via exposed getHostByName template function

Published Apr 14, 2026 · Updated Apr 14, 2026

Information disclosure in External Secrets Operator before 2.3.0 allows remote authenticated users to exfiltrate secrets through DNS. The v2 engine copies Sprig's TxtFuncMap into runtime/template/v2/template.go without removing getHostByName, so user-controlled templates resolve secret-derived hostnames in the controller. Exploitation requires permission to create or update templated ExternalSecret resources and controller-side DNS resolution.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability0.26%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in External Secrets Operator before 2.3.0 allows remote authenticated users to exfiltrate secrets through DNS. The v2 engine copies Sprig's TxtFuncMap into runtime/template/v2/template.go without removing getHostByName, so user-controlled templates resolve secret-derived hostnames in the controller. Exploitation requires permission to create or update templated ExternalSecret resources and controller-side DNS resolution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-34984
Published
Apr 14, 2026
Updated
Apr 14, 2026
Vendor
External Secrets
Product
External Secrets Operator
Classifications
CWE-200, T1048.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 14, 2026Record 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 2.3.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

External Secrets · External Secrets Operatorversion=< 2.3.0

Published CVSS scores

6.5NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
7.1GitHub, Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
T1048.003Exfiltration Over Unencrypted Non-C2 Protocol

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

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Your stack

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