CVE-2026-41485Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Controller denial of service via nil type assertion

Published Apr 24, 2026 · Updated Apr 24, 2026

Denial of service in Kyverno before 1.16.4 and 1.17.0-rc1 through 1.17.1 allows remote authenticated users to crash controllers. The legacy engine's pkg/engine/mutate/mutation.go ForEach function casts a nil patchesJson6902 value to string after variable substitution, causing a Go panic. Policy creation permission is required; a poisoned UpdateRequest repeatedly crashes the background controller, while matching admission requests lose their connections and remain blocked.

CVSS severity7.7
High
EPSS probability0.37%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Kyverno before 1.16.4 and 1.17.0-rc1 through 1.17.1 allows remote authenticated users to crash controllers. The legacy engine's pkg/engine/mutate/mutation.go ForEach function casts a nil patchesJson6902 value to string after variable substitution, causing a Go panic. Policy creation permission is required; a poisoned UpdateRequest repeatedly crashes the background controller, while matching admission requests lose their connections and remain blocked.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-41485
Published
Apr 24, 2026
Updated
Apr 24, 2026
Vendor
Kyverno
Product
Kyverno
Classifications
CWE-617, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 24, 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=< 1.16.4
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 1.17.0-rc1, < 1.17.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Kyverno · Kyvernoversion=< 1.16.4; version=>= 1.17.0-rc1, < 1.17.2

Published CVSS scores

7.7GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

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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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-617Reachable Assertion
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

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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