CVE-2022-29164 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) affecting Argo Workflows, an open-source container-native workflow engine used to orchestrate parallel jobs on Kubernetes clusters. The affected versions include all releases from 2.6.0 up to but not including 3.2.11, and from 3.3.0 up to but not including 3.3.5. The vulnerability allows an attacker with existing access to the same Kubernetes cluster and the ability to run workflows to craft a malicious workflow that generates an HTML artifact containing embedded JavaScript. This script, when accessed by a victim user, executes XMLHttpRequest (XHR) calls to the Argo Server API using the victim’s credentials and session context. Consequently, the attacker can leverage the victim’s privileges to read sensitive workflow information, create new workflows, or delete existing ones. The attack vector requires the attacker to send a deep-link URL to the victim, who must open it for the exploit to trigger. This means the attack relies on social engineering within a trusted environment and requires insider access. There is no evidence of exploitation in the wild to date. The root cause is insufficient privilege separation and improper handling of API access within the HTML artifacts generated by workflows, allowing cross-user privilege escalation via client-side scripting. Users are urged to upgrade to patched versions beyond 3.2.11 and 3.3.5 to remediate this issue.

For European organizations utilizing Argo Workflows in Kubernetes environments, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of workflow orchestration data and processes. An insider attacker can exploit this flaw to access sensitive workflow metadata, potentially exposing intellectual property or operational details. They can also manipulate workflows by creating or deleting jobs, disrupting automated processes critical to business operations, leading to downtime or degraded service. Since the attack requires insider access and victim interaction, the risk is primarily within organizations with multiple users sharing cluster access, such as large enterprises, managed service providers, or research institutions. The ability to escalate privileges via victim browsers could facilitate lateral movement or privilege escalation within the cluster, increasing the threat surface. Given the widespread adoption of Kubernetes and Argo Workflows in European cloud-native infrastructures, this vulnerability could impact sectors including finance, manufacturing, telecommunications, and government agencies that rely on container orchestration for critical workloads.

1. Immediate upgrade to Argo Workflows versions 3.2.11 or later, or 3.3.5 or later, where the vulnerability is patched. 2. Implement strict Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) policies to limit which users can create and execute workflows, minimizing insider threat exposure. 3. Enforce network segmentation and isolate Argo Server API endpoints to restrict access only to trusted users and services. 4. Disable or restrict the generation and sharing of HTML artifacts containing executable scripts, or sanitize artifact content to prevent embedded malicious scripts. 5. Educate users about the risks of opening unsolicited deep-links or artifacts, especially those originating from internal sources. 6. Enable audit logging on Argo Server API calls and monitor for unusual workflow creation or deletion patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. 7. Consider implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for accessing the Argo Server UI to reduce risk of session hijacking. 8. Regularly review cluster user permissions and remove unnecessary workflow execution rights. 9. Use network policies to restrict pod-to-pod communication where feasible, limiting the ability of compromised workflows to interact with the Argo Server API.