CVE-2026-10609
Description
A missing authorization flaw was found in the OpenShift Cluster Logging Operator. The operator creates and forwards ServiceAccount tokens to output destinations without verifying that the ClusterLogForwarder creator has permission to use those credentials, allowing a delegated editor to exfiltrate SA tokens and escalate privileges.
Statement
In a typical OpenShift Logging deployment a user managing ClusterLogForwarder objects is also expected to manage secrets with storage credentials. A user with the rights to manage secrets can obtain a token for a SA in the namespace and as such the flaw does not result in any privilege gain or security boundary being broken. The score assigned is reflective of a scenario where secret provisioning and CLF configuration are managed by separate roles.
Mitigation
Restrict ClusterLogForwarder write access to trusted administrators only. Review existing ClusterRoleBindings and RoleBindings that grant clusterlogforwarders write permission. Apply NetworkPolicy egress restrictions to the collector namespace to prevent collector pods from reaching arbitrary external endpoints. Deploy admission controller policies (OPA/Gatekeeper/Kyverno) to deny CLF resources whose outputs point to non-allowlisted URLs. Monitor for ClusterLogForwarder resources with outputs pointing to external URLs, especially those using token.from: serviceAccount.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.8 | N/A | 6.8 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | High | N/A | High |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Changed | N/A | Changed |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data; Read Files or Directories
An attacker could read sensitive data, either by reading the data directly from a data store that is not restricted, or by accessing insufficiently-protected, privileged functionality to read the data.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Application Data; Modify Files or Directories
An attacker could modify sensitive data, either by writing the data directly to a data store that is not restricted, or by accessing insufficiently-protected, privileged functionality to write the data.
Access Control
Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Bypass Protection Mechanism
An attacker could gain privileges by modifying or reading critical data directly, or by accessing privileged functionality.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
An attacker could gain unauthorized access to resources on the system and excessively consume those resources, leading to a denial of service.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank Trung Nguyen (@everping) (CyStack) for reporting this issue.
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