CVE-2026-40161
Description
A flaw was found in Tekton Pipelines. A tenant with permissions to create TaskRun or PipelineRun resources can exploit this vulnerability. By omitting the Git API token parameter and pointing the serverURL to an attacker-controlled endpoint, the system-configured Git API token (such as a GitHub Personal Access Token or GitLab token) can be sent to the attacker. This information disclosure allows for the exfiltration of sensitive API tokens.
Statement
This Moderate impact information disclosure flaw affects Tekton Pipelines. A user with permissions to create TaskRun or PipelineRun resources could exfiltrate the system-configured Git API token by directing the serverURL to an attacker-controlled endpoint and omitting the token parameter. This vulnerability doesn't affect a couple of Red Hat supported products as it's using a Pipelines version previously from 1.0.0, where the affected code is not present.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, ensure that the Git API token parameter is always explicitly provided when configuring Tekton Pipelines. Additionally, restrict permissions for creating TaskRun or PipelineRun resources to only trusted users to limit the attack surface. Review and enforce policies that prevent the use of user-controlled serverURLs without proper token authentication. Configuration changes may require a restart or reload of affected services to take effect.
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).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.7 | 6.5 | 7.7 |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | Low |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Changed | Unchanged | Changed |
| Confidentiality | High | High | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | None |
| Availability Impact | None | None | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data
Integrity
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
By providing URLs to unexpected hosts or ports, attackers can make it appear that the server is sending the request, possibly bypassing access controls such as firewalls that prevent the attackers from accessing the URLs directly. The server can be used as a proxy to conduct port scanning of hosts in internal networks, use other URLs such as that can access documents on the system (using file://), or use other protocols such as gopher:// or tftp://, which may provide greater control over the contents of requests.
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