Windmill CVE-2026-22683

Windmill versions 1.56.0–1.614.0. Attacker must have Operator role account credentials. No victim interaction required. Operator bypasses authorization checks on workspace API endpoints to create/modify scripts, flows, apps, and execute them for remote code execution.

The CVSS 4.0 score of 8.7 reflects high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (VC:H/VI:H/VA:H) with low attack complexity and no user interaction required. The PR:L (low privileges required) accurately captures that attackers need Operator credentials, not anonymous access. Public exploit code (Windfall POC) significantly lowers the barrier to exploitation, though no CISA KEV listing or EPSS score is present to confirm active widespread exploitation. SSVC factors suggest high priority: the vulnerability is automatable (API-based), requires low skill with public POC, and delivers maximum technical impact (arbitrary code execution). The 18-month window of exposure (v1.56.0 since mid-2023) increases likelihood that Operator accounts exist in production environments. Real-world risk is elevated for organizations using the commercial Operator tier or self-hosted deployments with role separation, but limited to environments where Operator accounts are provisioned. The primary risk mitigator is that attackers require valid Operator credentials, preventing anonymous internet-based exploitation.

An attacker with compromised Operator credentials (obtained via phishing, credential stuffing, or insider access) authenticates to a Windmill instance and issues POST requests to the workspace scripts API endpoint to create a malicious Python script containing reverse shell code. The API accepts the request despite the Operator role prohibition, persisting the script in the workspace. The attacker then submits a job execution request via the legitimate jobs API, which Operators are permitted to use, triggering execution of the malicious script within the Windmill worker container. This grants the attacker remote code execution with the privileges of the Windmill service account, enabling data exfiltration, lateral movement to connected systems, or deployment of persistent backdoors. The publicly available Windfall exploit automates this attack chain, requiring only valid Operator credentials and network access to the Windmill API.