CVE-2023-22736 argo-cd Controller reconciles apps outside configured namespaces when sharding is enabled

What is CVE-2023-22736?

CVE-2023-22736 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Argoproj Argo Cd, published on 26 Jan 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. Versions starting with 2.5.0-rc1 and above, prior to 2.5.8, and version 2.6.0-rc4, are vulnerable to an authorization bypass bug which allows a malicious Argo CD user to deploy Applications outside the configured allowed namespaces. Reconciled Application namespaces are specified as a comma-delimited list of glob patterns. When sharding is enabled on the Application controller, it does not enforce that list of patterns when reconciling Applications. For example, if Application namespaces are configured to be argocd-*, the Application controller may reconcile an Application installed in a namespace called other, even though it does not start with argocd-. Reconciliation of the out-of-bounds Application is only triggered when the Application is updated, so the attacker must be able to cause an update operation on the Application resource. This bug only applies to users who have explicitly enabled the "apps-in-any-namespace" feature by setting `application.namespaces` in the argocd-cmd-params-cm ConfigMap or otherwise setting the `--application-namespaces` flags on the Application controller and API server components. The apps-in-any-namespace feature is in beta as of this Security Advisory's publish date. The bug is also limited to Argo CD instances where sharding is enabled by increasing the `replicas` count for the Application controller. Finally, the AppProjects' `sourceNamespaces` field acts as a secondary check against this exploit. To cause reconciliation of an Application in an out-of-bounds namespace, an AppProject must be available which permits Applications in the out-of-bounds namespace. A patch for this vulnerability has been released in versions 2.5.8 and 2.6.0-rc5. As a workaround, running only one replica of the Application controller will prevent exploitation of this bug. Making sure all AppProjects' sourceNamespaces are restricted within the confines of the configured Application namespaces will also prevent exploitation of this bug.

Weakness: CWE-862

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-22736?

6 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 and github.com/argoproj/argo-cd. It affects 1 product.

Products include Argoproj Argo Cd.

How do I fix CVE-2023-22736?

Upgrade github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 to a fixed version for your release line: 2.5.8 or 2.6.0-rc5.

Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.

Is CVE-2023-22736 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-22736 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Argoproj Argo Cd

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

All Argoproj Argo Cd vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-6p4m-hw2h-6gmw, GO-2023-1512.