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Kubernetes CVE-2026-1580

HIGH
Improper Input Validation (CWE-20)
2026-02-03 jordan@liggitt.net GHSA-9h3p-52vh-959w
Kubernetes Nginx Suse
8.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticated user creates malicious Ingress resource
  2. Delivery
    Craft payload in nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-method annotation
  3. Exploit
    Inject arbitrary nginx configuration
  4. Execution
    Execute code in ingress-nginx controller pod
  5. Impact
    Access cluster Secrets

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-20
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
Exploitation Conditions

Attacker must have authenticated access to Kubernetes API to create/modify Ingress resources. ingress-nginx controller must be deployed with default RBAC permissions allowing cluster-wide Secret access. Target cluster must accept untrusted Ingress resources from authenticated users.
Impact

CVSS 8.8 (HIGH). Attack vector: Network. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: Low. User interaction: None.
Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to arbitrary code execution in the context of the ingress-nginx controller, and dis.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

Arbitrary code execution in ingress-nginx controllers via malicious nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-method Ingress annotations allows authenticated attackers to execute commands within the controller context and access cluster-wide Secrets. This vulnerability affects Nginx and Kubernetes deployments where the ingress controller has default cluster-wide Secret access permissions. No patch is currently available.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 21:54 CVSS 8.8

A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx where the nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-method Ingress annotation can be used to inject configuration into nginx. [CVSS 8.8 HIGH]

RemediationAI

Monitor vendor advisories for a patch. Restrict network access to the affected service where possible.

Affected Packages

go k8s.io/ingress-nginx fix: 1.13.7, 1.14.3

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in go

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Technical ContextAI · show details

Classified as CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation). A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx where the nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-method Ingress annotation can be used to inject configuration into nginx. This can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the ingress-nginx controller, and disclosure of Secrets accessible to the controller. (Note that in the default installation, the controller can access all Secrets cluster-wide.)

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SUSE HIGH

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch released
Mar 31, 2026 - 21:13 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Feb 03, 2026 - 23:16 nvd
HIGH 8.8

DescriptionCVE.org

A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx where the nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/auth-method Ingress annotation can be used to inject configuration into nginx. This can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the ingress-nginx controller, and disclosure of Secrets accessible to the controller. (Note that in the default installation, the controller can access all Secrets cluster-wide.)

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A HIGH severity vulnerability in ingress-nginx allows attackers to inject malicious nginx configuration through Ingress annotations, potentially enabling unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or service disruption. Organizations using ingress-nginx in Kubernetes environments are at immediate risk, particularly if they accept untrusted Ingress manifests or allow developers without security review to deploy configurations.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls
  1. Deploy ValidatingAdmissionPolicy or admission webhooks to block or sanitize suspicious auth-method annotation values. 2) Implement RBAC to restrict who can create/modify Ingress resources. 3) Use a WAF in front of ingress-nginx to detect and block common nginx injection payloads. 4) Disable the annotation feature if not required via ingress-nginx configuration flags. 5) Network segmentation to limit blast radius if injection occurs. 6) Enable audit logging on all Ingress modifications to detect suspicious changes. Continue monitoring vendor channels for patch availability.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 87% exploitable
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium
NVD CVE.org EPSS Vendor GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
High

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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Same weakness CWE-20 – Improper Input Validation

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: High
Product Status
openSUSE Leap 15.6 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP6 Fixed
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Fixed

References

Advisories & patches
ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:0403/ REF https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/136677

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