Credential theft via implicit apiCall token forwarding
Published Sep 1, 2026 · Updated Sep 1, 2026
Credential exposure in Kyverno before 1.16.4 allows remote authenticated users to steal the admission controller token via apiCall. In pkg/engine/apicall/executor.go, apiCall service mode reads the mounted ServiceAccount token and adds it as a Bearer Authorization header whenever a policy omits that header, without validating the destination. Policy-creation access and a reachable attacker-controlled endpoint are required; the stolen token permits actions allowed to Kyverno’s admission-controller identity, including policy control and cluster-resource reads.
Summary
What happened
Credential exposure in Kyverno before 1.16.4 allows remote authenticated users to steal the admission controller token via apiCall. In pkg/engine/apicall/executor.go, apiCall service mode reads the mounted ServiceAccount token and adds it as a Bearer Authorization header whenever a policy omits that header, without validating the destination. Policy-creation access and a reachable attacker-controlled endpoint are required; the stolen token permits actions allowed to Kyverno’s admission-controller identity, including policy control and cluster-resource reads.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-84195
- Published
- Sep 1, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 1, 2026
- Vendor
- Kyverno
- Product
- Kyverno
- Classifications
- CWE-200, CWE-522, T1528
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 1, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 1, 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=0 <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-8wfp-579w-6r25 proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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