Pipelines-as-code: openshift-pipelines-operator-rh: pipelines-as-code: repository users can trigger namespace edit-equivalent execution…
- Exploited
- No known exploitation
- Fix
- No fix listed
- Who is exposed
- Specific setups only
Do first: Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs. A namespace user holds Repository and Secret create/delete permissions in the namespace. The OpenShift Pipelines operator auto-provisions the openshift-pipelines-edit RoleBinding, granting the pipeline ServiceAccount ClusterRole/edit in every namespace.
- Last modified
- A 0-100 score for how much a CVE matters across the industry: exploitation, exposure, how widely the software is used, severity and whether a fix exists.What do these mean? →
- 32/100 · provisional
- How many real-world setups can hit the bug, from the vendor's advisory and CISA data. It does not know your setup.What do these mean? →
- Specific setups only
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
Summary
A namespace user in OpenShift Pipelines-as-Code can exploit this flaw over the network with low-privilege login and no user action, because PAC does not check whether a Repository's creator is allowed to create PipelineRuns. The attacker can then run arbitrary pipelines as the auto-provisioned pipeline ServiceAccount, which has edit rights by default, enabling Secret reads, resource changes, and possible supply chain tampering in CI/CD namespaces.
Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.
Read the original description
A flaw was found in OpenShift Pipelines-as-Code (PAC). PAC does not verify whether the creator of a Repository custom resource has permission to create PipelineRuns. A namespace user with only Repository and Secret create/delete permissions can cause PAC to execute attacker-controlled PipelineRuns as the auto-provisioned pipeline ServiceAccount, which carries ClusterRole/edit by default. This results in namespace-scoped privilege escalation, enabling Secret read, resource creation/modification/deletion, and potential supply chain injection in CI/CD namespaces.
cve.now Index
- Exploitation?/40Unknown. No CISA SSVC exploitation rating yet
- Exposure8/25Specific setups only, reachable over the network
- Reach10/20Shipped in major Linux distributions
- Severity8.8/10CVSS 8.8
- No patch5/5No patch listed yet
What would change the score
- Would score about 82 if added to CISA KEV
- Would score about 77 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
- Would score about 39 if CISA's SSVC rates it automatable
What to do
Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs.
A namespace user holds Repository and Secret create/delete permissions in the namespace. The OpenShift Pipelines operator auto-provisions the openshift-pipelines-edit RoleBinding, granting the pipeline ServiceAccount ClusterRole/edit in every namespace.Workaround: Set legacyPipelineRbac to false in the TektonConfig custom resource.
Timeline
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
Affected versions
- openshift-builds/openshift-builds-rhel9-operator
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines-client
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-cli-tkn-rhel8
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-cli-tkn-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-opc-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-operator-proxy-rhel8
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-operator-proxy-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-operator-webhook-rhel8
Version range not reported
Show all 24 packagesShow fewer packages
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-operator-webhook-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-cli-rhel8
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-cli-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-controller-rhel8
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-controller-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-watcher-rhel8
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-watcher-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-webhook-rhel8
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-webhook-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-rhel8-operator
Version range not reported
- openshift-pipelines/pipelines-rhel9-operator
Version range not reported
- openshift-serverless-1/kn-client-kn-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-serverless-1/kn-plugin-func-func-util-rhel9
Version range not reported
- openshift-serverless-clients
Version range not reported
- devspaces/udi-rhel9
Version range not reported
- web-terminal/web-terminal-tooling-rhel9
Version range not reported
Evidence 2
- Report
- Link
Corrections
None so far.
Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.
Questions about CVE-2026-50240
Is CVE-2026-50240 being exploited?
It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data
What does this mean?
A user with Repository and Secret create/delete permissions in a namespace can use Pipelines-as-Code to run PipelineRuns as the pipeline ServiceAccount. Because that account is bound to ClusterRole edit in every namespace, the user can gain namespace-scoped privileges such as reading Secrets and creating, changing, or deleting resources.Source: access.redhat.com, cve.org
Am I affected, and how do I check?
The facts list OpenShift Pipelines, Builds for Red Hat OpenShift, OpenShift Serverless, Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces, and Red Hat Web Terminal without specific version ranges. The issue comes from the openshift-pipelines-edit RoleBinding that the operator auto-provisions, so checking whether that RoleBinding exists in your namespaces, and whether legacyPipelineRbac is set in TektonConfig, shows the relevant setup.Source: access.redhat.com, cve.org
How do I fix CVE-2026-50240?
The facts do not name a fixed version, so no upgrade target is given. The only remedy stated is the workaround of setting legacyPipelineRbac to false in the TektonConfig custom resource.Source: access.redhat.com, cve.org
What if there's no patch?
Set legacyPipelineRbac to false in the TektonConfig custom resource. This is the workaround listed in the facts for the period before a fix is available.Source: access.redhat.com, cve.org