SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
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Case File

CVE-2026-54523

CRITICAL · CVSS 9.6 EPSS 0.40% Public Exploit

Source: NVD + CISA KEV + EPSS · Published 2026-08-26 · Last synced 2026-09-16

CyberRota Analysis

AI-Generated

The vulnerability affects Kyverno versions 1.18.0 to 1.18.2, allowing users to exploit the NamespacedMutatingPolicy CEL compiler to create resources in arbitrary namespaces, bypassing intended namespace restrictions. This could lead to unauthorized modifications of critical resources such as ConfigMaps and RoleBindings, posing a significant risk of privilege escalation. Organizations utilizing Kyverno for policy management should prioritize upgrading to version 1.18.2 to mitigate this critical security risk.

Public Exploit Signal

A public exploit, PoC, GitHub repository or Metasploit reference was detected for this CVE.

Note: these links are listed for security research and verification purposes only.

CVE
CVE-2026-54523
Severity
CRITICAL
CVSS
9.6
EPSS
0.40%

Original NVD Description

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.