OpenMetadata is a unified metadata platform that manages metadata across various data services. The vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-26010 arises from improper privilege management (CWE-269) in OpenMetadata versions before 1.11.8. Specifically, the UI endpoint /api/v1/ingestionPipelines inadvertently exposes JWT tokens used by the ingestion-bot account, which typically holds elevated privileges for services such as AWS Glue, Amazon Redshift, and PostgreSQL. Because any read-only user can access this endpoint, they can obtain these JWT tokens and effectively impersonate the ingestion-bot role. This privilege escalation allows attackers to perform destructive operations within the OpenMetadata instance, including modifying or deleting metadata, and accessing sensitive data that should be restricted by role-based policies. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without user interaction and requires only low privileges initially, making it a critical risk for affected deployments. The CVSS v3.0 score of 7.6 reflects the ease of exploitation (network vector, low attack complexity), the high impact on integrity, and moderate impact on confidentiality and availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the potential damage warrants immediate attention. The issue is resolved in OpenMetadata version 1.11.8, which should be applied promptly.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of metadata management systems. Organizations relying on OpenMetadata to govern data services such as AWS Glue, Redshift, or PostgreSQL could face unauthorized data exposure, including sensitive metadata and sample data that may contain personally identifiable information or business-critical information. The ability for a low-privilege user to escalate to a highly privileged ingestion-bot role could lead to destructive changes, disrupting data governance and analytics workflows. This could impact compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations due to unauthorized data access or modification. Additionally, the disruption of metadata services could impair operational efficiency and decision-making processes. Given the network-exploitable nature and lack of required user interaction, the threat could be leveraged by insider threats or external attackers who gain read-only access, increasing the attack surface. The absence of known exploits in the wild does not diminish the urgency for mitigation, especially in sectors with high data governance requirements such as finance, healthcare, and public administration.

European organizations should immediately upgrade OpenMetadata to version 1.11.8 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Until the upgrade can be performed, restrict access to the /api/v1/ingestionPipelines endpoint to trusted administrators only, using network segmentation, firewall rules, or API gateway policies. Implement strict role-based access controls (RBAC) to minimize the number of users with read-only access to sensitive endpoints. Monitor logs for unusual access patterns to the ingestionPipelines API and JWT token usage. Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users with elevated privileges to reduce the risk of token misuse. Conduct regular audits of metadata access and ingestion-bot account activities. Consider deploying runtime application self-protection (RASP) or web application firewalls (WAF) to detect and block suspicious API calls. Finally, educate development and security teams about the risks of privilege escalation and the importance of timely patching.