# CVE-2021-3557: Missing authorization in argocd

> Unprivileged users can deploy ArgoCD in their namespace to read all cluster resources, including secrets, enabling privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8fgv-frq2-3468

## What is CVE-2021-3557?

CVE-2021-3557 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Argoproj Argo Cd, published on 16 Feb 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in argocd. Any unprivileged user is able to deploy argocd in their namespace and with the created ServiceAccount argocd-argocd-server, the unprivileged user is able to read all resources of the cluster including all secrets which might enable privilege escalations. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-3557?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Argoproj Argo Cd, Redhat Openshift Gitops.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-3557?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-3557 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-3557 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3557 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Argoproj Argo Cd

- [CVE-2025-55190](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-55190/): Argo CD: Project API Token Exposes Repository Credentials (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2022-29165](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29165/): Argo CD will blindly trust JWT claims if anonymous access is enabled (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2023-40029](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-40029/): Cluster secret might leak in cluster details page in Argo CD (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2022-24768](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-24768/): Improper access control allows admin privilege escalation in Argo CD (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2024-21652](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21652/): Argo CD vulnerable to Bypassing of Brute Force Protection via Application Crash and In-Memory Data Loss (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-3557 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-3557 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Argoproj Argo Cd, published on 16 Feb 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3557 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Argoproj Argo Cd. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3557/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3557/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3557
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3557
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-3557

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3557/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.