Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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ReconIdentify exposed Kestra /api/v1 endpoint
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DeliveryAppend literal /configs to bypass Basic-Auth
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ExploitCreate flow with Shell/Process task
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InstallTrigger execution as root in container
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C2Access mounted Docker socket
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ExecuteSpawn privileged container on host
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ImpactFull host compromise
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Code injection prevention, sandbox exec
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, 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 only that the Kestra REST API (/api/v1/**) be network-reachable by the attacker and that the instance run a version prior to 1.0.45 or 1.3.21; the attacker simply chooses the literal final path segment configs to satisfy the flawed public-endpoint check (the auth filter forwards any path ending in /configs without credentials). No authentication, no user interaction, and no non-default configuration are needed for the auth bypass and unauthenticated flow-create/execution-trigger RCE as root. The escalation from container-root to host compromise additionally requires the deployment to bind-mount /var/run/docker.sock, which is the default in the official docker-compose.yml; instances that do not mount the Docker socket limit impact to root code execution within the container rather than host takeover. |
| Impact | This is a genuine top-priority issue, not a high-CVSS-but-low-real-risk case. The CVSS 3.1 vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H scores 10.0: network-reachable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, scope change with total confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The bypass is a deterministic logic flaw requiring only that the attacker append /configs to a request path, so exploitation is automatable and reliable. KEV status is NO (not listed by CISA) and no EPSS score was provided in the input, so widespread mass-exploitation is not yet confirmed; however, absence of EPSS/KEV data does not lower the intrinsic risk given that the full exploit path is published in the vendor GHSA advisory. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the advisory's step-by-step description means weaponization barrier is minimal. Defenders should treat any internet-exposed pre-fix Kestra instance as critically at risk. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker scanning for exposed Kestra instances sends an unauthenticated HTTP request to a flow-create route crafted so the path ends in the literal segment configs, bypassing Basic-Auth, and registers a flow containing a Shell task. They then trigger execution via the similarly bypassed execution route, and the task runs as root inside the container; because the official compose file mounts the Docker socket, the attacker issues Docker API calls to spawn a privileged container and take over the host. No POC is published yet, but the vendor advisory fully documents the path traversal of the auth filter, making this reliably reproducible. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jun 26, 2026
Unauthenticated remote code execution in Kestra orchestration platform before 1.0.45 and 1.3.21 lets anonymous attackers fully compromise the host. The REST API authentication filter treats any request path ending in /configs as the public instance-config endpoint, so an attacker appending the literal segment configs (e.g. to flow-create or execution-trigger routes) bypasses Basic-Auth, creates a flow with a Shell/Process task, and executes commands as root inside the container; with the default docker-compose mounting /var/run/docker.sock, this pivots to the host Docker daemon. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the technique is fully described in the vendor advisory and is trivially reproducible.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Kestra 1.0.45 (for the 1.0.x line) or 1.3.21 (for the 1.3.x line), per the advisory at https://github.com/kestra-io/kestra/security/advisories/GHSA-2q47-568g-9h4f. If immediate patching is not possible, block or restrict network access to the /api/v1/ endpoints at a reverse proxy or WAF and explicitly deny requests whose normalized path ends in /configs from unauthenticated sources (trade-off: this may break legitimate use of the public instance-config endpoint and must be applied to the post-normalization path to avoid trivial encoding bypasses). Additionally remove the /var/run/docker.sock bind mount from docker-compose.yml so that container RCE cannot pivot to the host Docker daemon (trade-off: Docker-based task runners that rely on the host socket will stop working). Restrict Kestra's network exposure to trusted internal networks and place it behind authenticated ingress until upgraded.
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
Kestra is an event-driven, open-source workflow orchestration platform whose REST API routes resources by caller-chosen URL path segments (e.g. /api/v1/{tenant}/flows/{namespace}, /api/v1/{tenant}/executions/{namespace}/{id}, /api/v1/{tenant}/namespaces/{namespace}/kv/{key}). The Micronaut security filter bound to @Filter("/api/v1/**") uses a naive suffix check: any path ending in /configs is forwarded as the unauthenticated public instance-config endpoint. The root cause maps to CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code / code injection) because the auth bypass exposes flow-create and execution-trigger routes, allowing an attacker to inject and run arbitrary Shell or Process task code. The affected component is cpe:2.3:a:kestra-io:kestra (all versions prior to the fixed releases). The CVSS scope change (S:C) reflects that code executes as root in the container and, via the bind-mounted Docker socket in the shipped docker-compose.yml, reaches the host Docker daemon - a security-authority boundary crossing from container to host.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Network-reachable auth bypass with no privileges or interaction (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); container-to-host pivot via Docker socket is a scope change (S:C) with full C/I/A loss.
Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M).
CVSS VectorVendor: GitHub_M
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21, the authentication filter for the REST API (@Filter("/api/v1/**")) treats any request whose path ends in /configs as the public instance-config endpoint and forwards it without a credential check. kestra addresses its resources by URL path segments that the caller chooses (/api/v1/{tenant}/flows/{namespace}, /api/v1/{tenant}/executions/{namespace}/{id}, /api/v1/{tenant}/namespaces/{namespace}/kv/{key}). An anonymous caller picks the literal configs as the final segment, and the request bypasses Basic-Auth entirely. Because the bypass reaches the flow-create and execution-trigger routes, an unauthenticated caller creates a flow containing a Shell or Process task and runs it. The task executes as root inside the kestra container. The official docker-compose.yml mounts /var/run/docker.sock, so root in the container reaches the host Docker daemon. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.0.45 and 1.3.21.
Articles & Coverage 1
Executive ViewAI
Kestra orchestration platform versions prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21 can be fully compromised by unauthenticated attackers who gain root-level access to affected systems. The vulnerability bypasses core authentication controls in the REST API and allows direct command execution on host infrastructure. Organizations using Kestra for critical workflows face immediate risk of complete infrastructure compromise.
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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
Code injection occurs when an application accepts user input and passes it directly into a language interpreter or evaluator without proper sanitization.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Unauthenticated remote code execution affects Kestra OSS (the open-source event-driven orchestration platform) prior to
Stored cross-site scripting in Kestra's custom Markdown renderer (versions before 1.3.24) allows any authenticated user
Kestra versions 1.1.10 and earlier allow authenticated users to perform cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks through the e
SQL injection in Kestra orchestration platform's flow search endpoint (GET /api/v1/main/flows/search) enables remote cod
Offline administrator password recovery in Kestra OSS (versions prior to 1.3.24) stems from its BasicAuth component stor
Arbitrary file read in Kestra orchestration platform (versions prior to 1.0.43 and 1.3.19) lets an authenticated user wi
Authenticated path traversal in Kestra's local internal-storage backend (versions prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.23) lets any l
Cross-site scripting in Kestra orchestration platform versions up to 1.3.3 enables authenticated flow authors to inject
Path traversal in Kestra's `inputFiles` task mechanism allows remote attackers to write arbitrary files to the worker fi
Unauthorized file read in Kestra's execution preview API allows any authenticated tenant user to access output files fro
EUVD-2026-39919
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
GitHub
VulDB
Exploit-DB