Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as Quay repository administrator
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DeliverySubmit mirror config via POST/PUT to repository mirror API with crafted external_reference
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ExploitQuay mirror worker schedules sync job
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ExecutionWorker invokes Skopeo with attacker-controlled URI
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PersistSkopeo requests internal service or cloud metadata endpoint
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ImpactAttacker retrieves sensitive response data
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V4 - API and Web Service URL allowlisting, SSRF prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Credential 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 an authenticated account with repository administrator privileges within Red Hat Quay - standard developer or read-only users cannot reach the vulnerable POST/PUT handlers for repository-level mirror configuration. The specific vulnerable code path is the mirror configuration endpoints in endpoints/api/mirror.py; the attacker must submit a mirror configuration payload containing a crafted external_reference value pointing to an internal or metadata destination. The Quay mirror worker must be running and must have network reachability to the targeted internal resource for the SSRF to yield useful data - if the worker is network-isolated, exploitation is limited. Organization-level mirror handlers are explicitly NOT affected (they apply validate_external_registry_url()). Exploitation is not possible by unauthenticated users or by users without repository administrator rights, which is the primary limiting factor beyond network topology. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N) accurately reflects the asymmetry of this vulnerability: exploitation is straightforward once repository admin access is obtained (AC:L), but that access requirement (PR:H) meaningfully limits the attack surface. The scope change (S:C) and high confidentiality impact (C:H) are the most consequential signals - successful exploitation can expose cloud IAM credentials, internal API responses, or other secrets from services reachable only within the cluster network, making this a privilege-escalation stepping stone rather than a pure Quay data leak. In multi-tenant Quay deployments where repository admin rights are broadly delegated - a common pattern in CI/CD environments - the effective attacker population is larger than PR:H implies. No EPSS score or KEV listing is available in the provided data, and no public POC has been identified, suggesting this has not yet been operationally exploited. The combination of no active exploitation and a high-privilege prerequisite makes this a medium operational priority, but organizations running multi-tenant Quay or exposing Quay workers to cloud metadata services should treat it as high due to the potential credential-theft impact. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A repository administrator in a shared Red Hat Quay deployment creates or updates a repository mirror configuration via the API, setting external_reference to a URL targeting the AWS Instance Metadata Service (http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/). The Quay mirror worker passes this value to Skopeo, which initiates an outbound request to the metadata endpoint; if the Quay worker runs on an EC2 instance or within a cloud-hosted OpenShift cluster with IMDSv1 enabled, the response may return temporary IAM credentials that the attacker can use to escalate privileges within the cloud environment. No public POC has been identified, but the technique is well-understood and the attack path requires only standard Quay API knowledge. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jul 21, 2026
Server-Side Request Forgery in Red Hat Quay 3 and Mirror Registry for Red Hat OpenShift 2 allows an authenticated repository administrator to pivot the Quay mirror worker through Skopeo to reach internal network services, cloud metadata endpoints (such as AWS IMDSv1), or other off-limits resources. The flaw arises because the repository-level mirror API handlers in endpoints/api/mirror.py accept an external_reference parameter without invoking the validate_external_registry_url() check that protects the organization-level equivalents. No public exploit code has been identified and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, but the CVSS scope change (S:C) reflects real lateral reach into infrastructure beyond the Quay application boundary.
RemediationAI
Apply the Red Hat-issued patch for CVE-2026-15927 as soon as it is released; monitor https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-15927 for the specific fixed package version, which has not been confirmed in current data. As an immediate compensating control, enforce strict egress network policy on the host or pod running the Quay mirror worker, blocking outbound connections to cloud metadata addresses (169.254.169.254, fd00:ec2::254) and RFC 1918 address ranges (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16); note that overly broad egress blocking may disrupt legitimate mirroring from external registries, so an allowlist approach targeting known registry hostnames is preferable. Additionally, audit and restrict repository administrator grants to the minimum set of trusted principals, as the vulnerability is only exploitable by users holding that role - reducing the pool of potential abusers lowers effective risk immediately without requiring a code change.
Affects your stack
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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Red Hat Quay is an enterprise container image registry; its mirroring subsystem periodically syncs images from upstream registries by spawning Skopeo, a command-line container image utility. Mirror sources are configured via POST and PUT requests to endpoints/api/mirror.py, which accept an external_reference field identifying the upstream registry/repository URI. Organization-level mirror handlers call validate_external_registry_url() to reject non-routable or internal destinations, but the repository-level handlers omit this call entirely, meaning Skopeo is invoked with an attacker-supplied hostname. CWE-918 (Server-Side Request Forgery) is the exact root cause: user-controlled input reaches an outbound HTTP/network request without allowlist or destination validation. Affected products are confirmed by CPE cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_quay_3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:mirror_registry_for_red_hat_openshift_2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
PR:H confirmed by repository-admin-only access; S:C and C:H reflect SSRF reaching confidential internal services beyond Quay's own boundary; no integrity or availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorVendor: redhat
DescriptionCVE.org
A flaw was found in Red Hat Quay's repository-level mirror configuration feature. The POST and PUT handlers in endpoints/api/mirror.py accept an external_reference parameter without SSRF validation, unlike the organization-level mirror handlers which apply validate_external_registry_url(). A repository administrator can supply a crafted hostname that causes the Quay mirror worker to make requests via Skopeo to internal network services, cloud metadata endpoints, or other resources not intended to be reachable from the Quay application.
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
Server-Side Request Forgery exploits applications that fetch remote resources based on user-supplied URLs.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
Authenticated remote code execution in Red Hat Quay 3 and Mirror Registry for Red Hat OpenShift arises from unsafe deser
Red Hat Quay's container image upload mechanism allows authenticated users with push privileges to interfere with concur
Server-side request forgery (SSRF) in Red Hat Mirror Registry and Red Hat Quay 3.x allows authenticated users to conduct
Server-side request forgery in Red Hat Quay allows an authenticated repository administrator to bypass the hostname blac
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in Red Hat Quay's Proxy Cache configuration allows authenticated organization adminis
OpenShift Mirror Registry leaks valid usernames and email addresses through inconsistent error messages during authentic
EUVD-2026-46150
GHSA-9rpm-rwwc-xw43
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB