VulnerabilityPublished 22 Sep 2026Updated 4 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-79767: Gardener · Authorization Bypass via Group Subject Injection

Affects github.com/gardener/gardenerSource GCVE Database

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium : upgrade to 1.142.6 when convenient.

Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 00:42 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Patch: Available – fixed in 1.142.6, 1.143.3, 1.144.2

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade github.com/gardener/gardener to 1.142.6; github.com/gardener/gardener to 1.143.3; github.com/gardener/gardener to 1.144.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Gogithub.com/gardener/gardener	Affected <1.142.6	Fixed in 1.142.6
Gogithub.com/gardener/gardener	Affected >=1.143.0 <1.143.3	Fixed in 1.143.3
Gogithub.com/gardener/gardener	Affected >=1.144.0 <1.144.2	Fixed in 1.144.2

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A patch is available that fixes this vulnerability in Gardener versions 1.142.6, 1.143.3, and 1.144.2. Users should upgrade to one of these fixed versions to remediate the issue. Until patched, restrict project admin privileges carefully and monitor for unauthorized group membership changes. No vendor advisory states that no action is required or that the issue is already mitigated without patching.

Description

CVE-2026-79767 is an authorization bypass vulnerability in the Gardener API server's customverbauthorizer admission plugin. The vulnerability arises because the authorization check for the 'manage-members' custom verb only enforces permissions on User-kind subjects, ignoring Group and ServiceAccount subjects. This allows a project admin without 'manage-members' permission to add arbitrary Group subjects, such as 'system:authenticated', to a project's member list, effectively granting all authenticated users full project-level access.

Impact

An attacker with project admin privileges but without 'manage-members' permission can escalate access by adding Group subjects to a project's member list. For example, adding the 'system:authenticated' group grants all authenticated users full project-level access, potentially exposing sensitive project resources and operations to unauthorized users. This results in a loss of access control integrity and unauthorized privilege escalation within the Gardener environment.

Summary

The Gardener API server's 'manage-members' authorization check is intended to restrict changes to project members to human users or groups with proper permissions. However, the implementation only verifies changes to User-kind subjects and ignores Group-kind subjects due to the isHumanUser() function filtering only for 'User' kind. Consequently, a project admin lacking 'manage-members' permission can add Group subjects to a project, bypassing authorization controls. This flaw allows escalation of privileges by adding broad groups like 'system:authenticated', granting unintended access to all authenticated users. The issue affects Gardener versions prior to 1.142.6, versions >=1.143.0 and <1.143.3, and versions >=1.144.0 and <1.144.2. Fixes are available in versions 1.142.6, 1.143.3, and 1.144.2.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 5 Nov 2026, 00:42 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

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