CVE-2026-77524Public exploitNetwork attack vectorHinoki check available

Privilege escalation via operator token exfiltration

Published Oct 14, 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026

Privilege escalation in KEDA 2.20.2 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to gain cluster-wide access via Vault authentication. The operator's HashiCorp Vault resolver sends its own projected ServiceAccount token to an unchecked hashiCorpVault.address when Kubernetes authentication has no explicit credential; its JWT-shape filter accepts that token. Namespace permissions to create TriggerAuthentication and ScaledObject resources expose the default configuration, allowing cluster-wide Secret reads and workload or admission changes within the operator's permissions.

CVSS severity9.9
Critical
EPSS probability0.64%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in KEDA 2.20.2 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to gain cluster-wide access via Vault authentication. The operator's HashiCorp Vault resolver sends its own projected ServiceAccount token to an unchecked hashiCorpVault.address when Kubernetes authentication has no explicit credential; its JWT-shape filter accepts that token. Namespace permissions to create TriggerAuthentication and ScaledObject resources expose the default configuration, allowing cluster-wide Secret reads and workload or admission changes within the operator's permissions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-77524
Published
Oct 14, 2026
Updated
Oct 14, 2026
Vendor
KEDA
Product
KEDA
Classifications
CWE-918, CWE-269, T1528
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 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=< 2.21.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

KEDA · KEDAversion=< 2.21.0

Published CVSS scores

9.9KEDACVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

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

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-918Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1528Steal Application Access Token

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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