Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach OpenCost API on cluster network
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DeliveryGET /helmValues unauthenticated
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ExploitReceive base64-decoded cloud credentials
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ExecutionPOST /serviceKey overwrites GCP key
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ImpactRedirect billing calls and abuse creds
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Authentication required for critical functions
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Initial Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires network reachability to the OpenCost cost-model API and, for the /serviceKey admin bypass, that the ADMIN_TOKEN environment variable is UNSET - which is the default state, so default-configured deployments are exploitable. The /helmValues exposure has no precondition at all because the route was registered without any auth middleware. What limits exploitation: the OpenCost API must be reachable by the attacker (typically in-cluster or via an exposed ingress/LoadBalancer rather than the public internet by default), the serviceKey-tampering impact depends on GCP being the configured cloud provider, and setting ADMIN_TOKEN in pre-patch versions closes the write-endpoint bypass but does NOT protect the unauthenticated /helmValues route. |
| Impact | The vendor CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N, base 8.7) confirms remote, low-complexity, unauthenticated exploitation with high confidentiality impact - corroborated by CWE-306, publicly available exploit code, and an available vendor patch. The vector rates only confidentiality (VC:H) and marks integrity none (VI:N), yet the description explicitly states attackers can modify GCP service account keys via POST /serviceKey, which is an integrity impact - the official vector appears to under-count the serviceKey tampering, so this analysis independently assesses integrity as High. There is no EPSS score in the input and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified as actively used' despite POC availability; do not conflate the public POC with in-the-wild use. Net: a genuine high priority for OpenCost operators because the default configuration (no ADMIN_TOKEN) is vulnerable and credential theft is the payoff, but real-world blast radius depends on how many deployments expose the OpenCost API beyond the cluster boundary. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who can reach the OpenCost HTTP API (for example a pod on the cluster network or via an over-exposed ingress) sends an unauthenticated GET /helmValues and receives the base64-decoded HELM_VALUES containing cloud provider credentials. Using the same lack of authentication, they POST /serviceKey to replace the GCP service account key, redirecting billing calls under their control. Publicly available exploit code exists, and the low attack complexity (AC:L, no user interaction) makes this trivial to weaponize. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jul 30, 2026
Credential disclosure and admin authentication bypass in OpenCost before 1.121.0 lets remote unauthenticated attackers read cloud provider secrets and tamper with billing configuration. The GET /helmValues endpoint ships with no authentication and returns the base64-decoded HELM_VALUES environment variable containing cloud credentials, while adminAuthMiddleware fails open when ADMIN_TOKEN is unset, allowing POST /serviceKey to overwrite GCP service account keys and redirect billing calls. Publicly available exploit code exists and a vendor patch (v1.121.0) is released; no public active-exploitation record (not in CISA KEV) at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to OpenCost core/v1.121.0 or later (https://github.com/opencost/opencost/releases/tag/core/v1.121.0), which adds adminAuthMiddleware to /helmValues and changes the middleware to fail closed - returning HTTP 503 with Cache-Control: no-store when ADMIN_TOKEN is unset (commit a49a25bc2e0d6e220a131a4dc58f38ebe6ae851b, PR https://github.com/opencost/opencost/pull/3910). Note this is a breaking change: after upgrading you must set ADMIN_TOKEN (for example opencost.exporter.adminToken in the Helm chart) or the admin endpoints (POST /serviceKey, GET /helmValues, /cloudCost/rebuild|repair, /cloud/config/*) return 503 and become unusable. If you cannot upgrade immediately, restrict network access to the OpenCost service so the API is reachable only from trusted namespaces (NetworkPolicy) or an authenticating reverse proxy, and specifically block or filter the /helmValues and /serviceKey paths at the ingress; the trade-off is that internal tooling relying on those endpoints will break. Also rotate any cloud provider credentials that may have been exposed via HELM_VALUES.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
OpenCost is a CNCF cost-monitoring tool for Kubernetes and cloud environments (CPE cpe:2.3:a:opencost:opencost) that exposes an HTTP API via its cost-model server (pkg/costmodel/router.go). The root cause is CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for a Critical Function): the /helmValues route was registered directly to the handler with no middleware, and adminAuthMiddleware was designed to 'fail open' - when the ADMIN_TOKEN environment variable was unset it merely logged a deduped warning and called the next handler, leaving write endpoints such as POST /serviceKey, /cloudCost/rebuild, and /cloud/config/* unauthenticated. HELM_VALUES is an environment variable the Helm chart injects; OpenCost base64-decodes and returns it verbatim, exposing embedded cloud provider credentials. The serviceKey endpoint manages the GCP service account key OpenCost uses for cloud billing queries, so tampering redirects those calls.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Remote unauthenticated access against default config (PR:N/AC:L); credential disclosure gives C:H and POST /serviceKey key tampering gives I:H, with no availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
DescriptionCVE.org
OpenCost before 1.121.0 fails to authenticate the GET /helmValues endpoint, exposing base64-decoded HELM_VALUES environment variable containing cloud provider credentials. Additionally, adminAuthMiddleware fails open when ADMIN_TOKEN is unset, allowing unauthenticated attackers to modify GCP service account keys via POST /serviceKey to redirect billing calls.
Latest POC
1 PoC candidate from github (unverified)
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Executive ViewAI
OpenCost before v1.121.0 contains critical vulnerabilities allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to extract cloud provider credentials and bypass administrative controls; publicly available exploit code exists. Organizations using OpenCost for cloud cost monitoring face immediate risk of credential theft, infrastructure compromise, and unauthorized billing manipulation. This requires urgent patching of all affected deployments.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
EUVD-2026-51152
GHSA-fq2p-hx59-r7g8
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB