CVE-2026-42296
Description
A flaw was found in Argo Workflows. A user with create Workflow permission can bypass the templateReferencing: Strict security control. This bypass allows the user to gain host network access, switch service accounts, override pod security context, add tolerations to schedule on control-plane nodes, or enable Service Account (SA) token mounting. This could lead to privilege escalation and unauthorized access within the Kubernetes cluster.
Statement
Severity: Important
This issue is classified as Important because a user with create Workflow permission can bypass Argo Workflows templateReferencing Strict or Secure controls and influence pod security posture (hostNetwork, serviceAccountName, securityContext, tolerations, automountServiceAccountToken) when submitting workflows that reference WorkflowTemplates. RH CVSS 8.1 reflects network reachability, low-privilege attacker (workflow submitter), and high confidentiality/integrity impact in the cluster context (PR:L, UI:N).
Red Hat OpenShift AI ships Argo Workflows as part of Data Science Pipelines (workflow-controller and argoexec containers, plus related ml-pipelines components) on supported streams rhoai-2.25, rhoai-3.3, and rhoai-3.4. Bundled versions are below the upstream fix (3.7.14). Practical exploitability also depends on Kubernetes-level controls (PodSecurity admission, OPA/Gatekeeper) and namespace RBAC for workflow creation.
This CVE is an incomplete fix for CVE-2026-31892; clusters that received the earlier 3.7.11-class update remain affected until upgraded to 3.7.14 or later on the 3.x line.
Mitigation
Upgrade Argo Workflows to version 3.7.14 or later (3.x line) or 4.0.5+ (4.x line) in affected Red Hat OpenShift AI releases. Red Hat OpenShift AI engineering is expected to deliver updated Data Science Pipelines builds for affected streams (rhoai-2.25, rhoai-3.3, rhoai-3.4).
As a defense-in-depth measure, enforce PodSecurity admission or policy controls to block hostNetwork, privileged pods, and unauthorized service account use independently of Argo templateReferencing settings. Restrict Workflow create permissions to trusted principals.
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 | 8.1 | N/A | 8.1 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data; Read Files or Directories
An attacker could bypass intended access restrictions to read sensitive data, either by reading the data directly from a data store that is not correctly 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 bypass intended access restrictions to modify sensitive data, either by writing the data directly to a data store that is not correctly 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 bypass intended access restrictions to gain privileges by modifying or reading critical data directly, or by accessing privileged functionality.
Confidentiality,Integrity,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
An attacker could use elevated privileges to execute unauthorized commands or code.
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.
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