High [CVE-2026-54523] NamespacedGeneratingPolicy generator.apply namespace argument unvalidated -- background controller creates RoleBindings in any namespace including kube-system
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-54523.
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Summary
Kyverno is a policy engine designed for cloud native platform engineering teams. From 1.18.0 until 1.18.2, the NamespacedMutatingPolicy CEL compiler exposes the generator library to matchConditions, allowing a namespace-scoped policy to invoke generator.apply(namespace, resources) with an arbitrary target namespace.
The validation in pkg/cel/policies/mpol/validate.go checks that the policy compiles but does not enforce namespace scope, and GenerateResources in pkg/cel/libs/context.go does not reject the cross-namespace target.
A user who can create NamespacedMutatingPolicy objects in one namespace can cause the admission controller, operating with cluster-wide privileges, to create ConfigMaps, NetworkPolicies, Secrets, RoleBindings, and other resources in another namespace, enabling unauthorized modification and potential privilege escalation.
This issue is fixed in version 1.18.2. A user with specific permissions to create policy objects in one area (namespace) can exploit a vulnerability where a namespace argument is not properly checked.
This allows them to force the system's admission controller, which has broad access, to create resources like user role assignments (RoleBindings) in other restricted areas. This can lead to unauthorized changes and potentially elevate their access privileges within the system.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 1 hour ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 1 hour ago·verify at source
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