OpenMetadata is a unified metadata platform used to manage metadata across various data services. CVE-2026-26010 is an improper privilege management vulnerability classified under CWE-269 that affects OpenMetadata versions prior to 1.11.8. The issue arises because API calls made by the UI to the endpoint /api/v1/ingestionPipelines inadvertently expose JWT tokens belonging to the ingestion-bot account. This ingestion-bot role typically holds elevated privileges to interact with critical data services such as AWS Glue, Amazon Redshift, and PostgreSQL databases. The vulnerability allows any user with read-only access to the OpenMetadata UI to retrieve these JWT tokens, effectively escalating their privileges to that of the ingestion-bot. This privilege escalation can lead to unauthorized destructive operations within OpenMetadata instances, including modification or deletion of metadata configurations. Additionally, it can cause data leakage by exposing sensitive sample data or service metadata that should be restricted by role-based access controls. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network. The CVSS v3.0 base score is 7.6, reflecting high severity due to the ease of exploitation and the significant impact on integrity and confidentiality. The issue has been addressed and fixed in OpenMetadata version 1.11.8, and users are strongly advised to upgrade to this or later versions to mitigate the risk.

The impact of CVE-2026-26010 is significant for organizations using OpenMetadata versions prior to 1.11.8. Attackers with only read-only access can escalate privileges to a highly privileged ingestion-bot role, enabling unauthorized destructive changes to metadata configurations and ingestion pipelines. This can disrupt data governance, data lineage tracking, and metadata integrity, potentially causing operational downtime or data inconsistencies. Moreover, the exposure of JWT tokens can lead to data leakage, revealing sensitive sample data and service metadata that should be protected by role-based policies. Such data exposure can violate compliance requirements and lead to reputational damage. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the metadata platform and associated data services. Since OpenMetadata is often deployed in data-centric organizations, including enterprises relying on cloud data warehouses and data lakes, the risk extends to critical business intelligence and analytics workflows. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild yet, the ease of exploitation and the high privileges gained make this a critical risk that could be targeted by malicious insiders or external attackers who have gained read-only access.

To mitigate CVE-2026-26010, organizations should immediately upgrade OpenMetadata to version 1.11.8 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed. Until the upgrade is applied, restrict read-only user access to the OpenMetadata UI and API endpoints, especially /api/v1/ingestionPipelines, to trusted personnel only. Implement strict network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of the metadata platform to untrusted networks. Monitor logs for unusual access patterns or attempts to retrieve ingestion-bot JWT tokens. Employ multi-factor authentication and strong identity management to reduce the risk of unauthorized read-only access. Review and audit role assignments and permissions regularly to ensure least privilege principles are enforced. Additionally, consider rotating credentials and tokens associated with ingestion-bot roles to invalidate any potentially leaked tokens. Finally, maintain an incident response plan to quickly address any detected exploitation attempts.