Service account token theft via implicit authorization
Published Apr 21, 2026 · Updated Apr 21, 2026
Credential disclosure in Kyverno before 1.16.4 allows remote authenticated users to steal the controller service account token. The apiCall servicecall helper reads the mounted token in (*executor).addHTTPHeaders and adds it as a Bearer credential when a policy omits Authorization. Exploitation requires permission to create or update a ClusterPolicy or GlobalContextEntry and a policy-controlled endpoint; the stolen token grants only the controller account's RBAC permissions.
Summary
What happened
Credential disclosure in Kyverno before 1.16.4 allows remote authenticated users to steal the controller service account token. The apiCall servicecall helper reads the mounted token in (*executor).addHTTPHeaders and adds it as a Bearer credential when a policy omits Authorization. Exploitation requires permission to create or update a ClusterPolicy or GlobalContextEntry and a policy-controlled endpoint; the stolen token grants only the controller account's RBAC permissions.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-40868
- Published
- Apr 21, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 21, 2026
- Vendor
- Kyverno
- Product
- Kyverno
- Classifications
- CWE-922, T1528
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 21, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 21, 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.
- Affected versionversion=< 1.16.4
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
- GHSA-q93q-v844-jrqp reproducible cluster proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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