CVE-2026-46579: Improper Authentication in Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.13
A flaw was found in the OpenShift Router. When a Route has `insecureEdgeTerminationPolicy` set to Allow, the HTTP frontend does not remove `X-SSL-Client-*` headers from incoming requests. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to send plain HTTP requests with crafted `X-SSL-Client-*` headers. As a result, backends relying on these headers for mutual TLS (Transport Layer Security) authentication can be bypassed, enabling the attacker to impersonate client certificate identities.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The vulnerability CVE-2026-46579 affects the OpenShift Router component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. When a Route is configured with insecureEdgeTerminationPolicy set to Allow, the HTTP frontend does not strip X-SSL-Client-* headers from incoming HTTP requests. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to send crafted HTTP requests with these headers, bypassing mutual TLS authentication mechanisms that rely on these headers for client identity verification. This improper authentication flaw can lead to impersonation of client certificate identities. Red Hat has issued security advisories RHSA-2026:27009 and RHSA-2026:27044, providing updated container images and packages in OpenShift Container Platform versions 4.22.2 and 4.21.21 respectively, which fix this issue.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to bypass mutual TLS authentication by injecting crafted X-SSL-Client-* headers in HTTP requests. This can lead to unauthorized access by impersonating client certificate identities, compromising confidentiality and integrity of communications. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.4 (High), reflecting network attack vector, high impact on confidentiality and integrity, no privileges required, and no user interaction needed.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released official fixes for this vulnerability in OpenShift Container Platform versions 4.22.2 and 4.21.21. Users should upgrade their clusters to these versions or later as soon as possible to fully mitigate the issue. The vendor manages remediation for these on-premise/private cloud deployments via updated container images and RPM packages. Instructions for upgrading are available in the Red Hat documentation. No alternative mitigations or workarounds are specified in the advisory.
CVE-2026-46579: Improper Authentication in Red Hat Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.13
Description
A flaw was found in the OpenShift Router. When a Route has `insecureEdgeTerminationPolicy` set to Allow, the HTTP frontend does not remove `X-SSL-Client-*` headers from incoming requests. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to send plain HTTP requests with crafted `X-SSL-Client-*` headers. As a result, backends relying on these headers for mutual TLS (Transport Layer Security) authentication can be bypassed, enabling the attacker to impersonate client certificate identities.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.4high
Affected software
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability CVE-2026-46579 affects the OpenShift Router component of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. When a Route is configured with insecureEdgeTerminationPolicy set to Allow, the HTTP frontend does not strip X-SSL-Client-* headers from incoming HTTP requests. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to send crafted HTTP requests with these headers, bypassing mutual TLS authentication mechanisms that rely on these headers for client identity verification. This improper authentication flaw can lead to impersonation of client certificate identities. Red Hat has issued security advisories RHSA-2026:27009 and RHSA-2026:27044, providing updated container images and packages in OpenShift Container Platform versions 4.22.2 and 4.21.21 respectively, which fix this issue.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to bypass mutual TLS authentication by injecting crafted X-SSL-Client-* headers in HTTP requests. This can lead to unauthorized access by impersonating client certificate identities, compromising confidentiality and integrity of communications. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.4 (High), reflecting network attack vector, high impact on confidentiality and integrity, no privileges required, and no user interaction needed.
Mitigation Recommendations
Red Hat has released official fixes for this vulnerability in OpenShift Container Platform versions 4.22.2 and 4.21.21. Users should upgrade their clusters to these versions or later as soon as possible to fully mitigate the issue. The vendor manages remediation for these on-premise/private cloud deployments via updated container images and RPM packages. Instructions for upgrading are available in the Red Hat documentation. No alternative mitigations or workarounds are specified in the advisory.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Csaf Category
- csaf_security_advisory
- Csaf Version
- 2.0
- Publisher
- Red Hat Product Security
- Advisory Id
- RHSA-2026:27009
- Cve Count
- 1
- Additional Cves
- []
- Cvss Version
- null
Threat ID: 6a3aac35eed863c81e3e9d6e
Added to database: 06/23/2026, 15:54:29 UTC
Last enriched: 07/31/2026, 01:25:24 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:30:14 UTC
Views: 159
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