CVE-2026-78609Network attack vector

Cross-namespace trust modification via spoofed Secret metadata

Published Sep 2, 2026 · Updated Sep 2, 2026

Incorrect authorization in Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes 2.6.0 through 3.4.1 allows remote authenticated users to modify trusted certificate data. ECK accepts attacker-controlled Secret metadata from one monitored namespace and incorporates its certificate material into an Elasticsearch client trust bundle managed in another namespace. Reachability requires limited Kubernetes Secret-creation permissions in a monitored namespace; confidentiality and integrity impact is greatest when Elasticsearch client certificate authentication is active.

CVSS severity5.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.09%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect authorization in Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes 2.6.0 through 3.4.1 allows remote authenticated users to modify trusted certificate data. ECK accepts attacker-controlled Secret metadata from one monitored namespace and incorporates its certificate material into an Elasticsearch client trust bundle managed in another namespace. Reachability requires limited Kubernetes Secret-creation permissions in a monitored namespace; confidentiality and integrity impact is greatest when Elasticsearch client certificate authentication is active.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-78609
Published
Sep 2, 2026
Updated
Sep 2, 2026
Vendor
Elastic
Product
Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes
Classifications
CWE-863, CAPEC-690, T1649
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 2, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 2, 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=2.6.0 <=3.4.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Elastic · Elastic Cloud on Kubernetesversion=2.6.0 <=3.4.1

Published CVSS scores

5.4ElasticCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A: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-863Incorrect Authorization
CAPEC-690Metadata Spoofing
T1649Steal or Forge Authentication Certificates

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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