Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Authorized tenant controlling a namespace-scoped instance (PR:L) acts over the API (AV:N/AC:L) to delete another instance's ClusterRole (S:C), causing availability-only impact (A:H, C/I:N).
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorVendor: redhat
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
A flaw was found in the OpenShift GitOps operator. The ClusterRole reconciler does not validate resource ownership when reconciling ClusterRole objects. A namespace-scoped Argo CD instance can trigger deletion of a ClusterRole owned by a cluster-scoped Argo CD instance by crafting a name collision, resulting in a denial of service.
AnalysisAI
Denial of service in Red Hat OpenShift GitOps (Argo CD operator) lets a tenant who controls a namespace-scoped Argo CD instance delete a ClusterRole belonging to a cluster-scoped Argo CD instance by crafting a name collision. Because the ClusterRole reconciler skips ownership validation (CWE-862), a low-privileged tenant can disrupt a higher-privileged, cluster-wide GitOps instance across the trust boundary. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV, but the cross-tenant scope change makes it a meaningful multi-tenancy integrity concern.
Technical ContextAI
The affected component is the OpenShift GitOps operator, Red Hat's supported packaging of Argo CD for OpenShift/Kubernetes continuous delivery. Argo CD can be deployed either cluster-scoped (managing resources across the whole cluster, typically with powerful ClusterRoles) or namespace-scoped (managing only a delegated tenant namespace). The operator's ClusterRole reconciler is responsible for creating and pruning the RBAC ClusterRole objects that back these instances. The root cause is CWE-862 (Missing Authorization / missing resource-ownership validation): when reconciling ClusterRole objects, the controller matches by name without verifying which Argo CD instance actually owns the object. Because ClusterRoles are cluster-scoped Kubernetes objects sharing a single global namespace, a namespace-scoped instance can be made to reconcile a name that collides with a cluster-scoped instance's ClusterRole, and the reconciler deletes it.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch version is identified in the available data - the references point only to the Red Hat CVE page (https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-14251) and Bugzilla 2484710 (https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2484710), which should be monitored for the fixed operator version and applied via the OpenShift OperatorHub/OLM channel as soon as it ships. As a compensating control until a patch is available, avoid running cluster-scoped and untrusted namespace-scoped Argo CD instances on the same cluster; restrict who can create or manage namespace-scoped Argo CD instances (limit ArgoCD custom-resource creation via RBAC) so that only trusted operators can trigger ClusterRole reconciliation, accepting the trade-off of reduced tenant self-service. Additionally, enforce naming conventions/admission policies (e.g., an OPA/Gatekeeper or Kyverno policy) that prevent tenant instances from producing ClusterRole names that collide with cluster-scoped instances, and monitor for unexpected ClusterRole deletions in audit logs so a DoS can be detected and the ClusterRole quickly recreated.
More in Red Hat Openshift Gitops
View allPrivilege escalation in ArgoCD Image Updater allows authenticated low-privileged users in a multi-tenant Red Hat OpenShi
Remote code execution in the Argo CD repo-server component (as shipped in Red Hat OpenShift GitOps and the argoproj argo
Same weakness CWE-862 – Missing Authorization
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
View allVendor StatusVendor
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-44596
GHSA-g9w9-rqjq-9rf5