CVE-2023-23947 Argo CD users with any cluster secret update access may update out-of-bounds cluster secrets
Users with limited cluster secret update access can modify any cluster secret, enabling privilege escalation or denial of service in Argo CD.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-23947?
CVE-2023-23947 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Argoproj Argo Cd, published on 16 Feb 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. All Argo CD versions starting with 2.3.0-rc1 and prior to 2.3.17, 2.4.23 2.5.11, and 2.6.2 are vulnerable to an improper authorization bug which allows users who have the ability to update at least one cluster secret to update any cluster secret. The attacker could use this access to escalate privileges (potentially controlling Kubernetes resources) or to break Argo CD functionality (by preventing connections to external clusters). A patch for this vulnerability has been released in Argo CD versions 2.6.2, 2.5.11, 2.4.23, and 2.3.17. Two workarounds are available. Either modify the RBAC configuration to completely revoke all `clusters, update` access, or use the `destinations` and `clusterResourceWhitelist` fields to apply similar restrictions as the `namespaces` and `clusterResources` fields.
Weakness: CWE-863
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-23947?
10 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/argoproj/argo-cd and github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | All versions | None |
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | From 2.3.0 | 2.3.17 |
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | From 2.3.0 | 2.3.17 |
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | From 2.4.0 | 2.4.23 |
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | From 2.4.0 | 2.4.23 |
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | From 2.5.0 | 2.5.11 |
4 more packages
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | From 2.5.0 | 2.5.11 |
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | From 2.6.0 | 2.6.2 |
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd Go | From 2.6.0 | 2.6.2 |
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 Go | From 2.3.0 | 2.3.17, 2.4.23, 2.5.11, 2.6.2 |
Products include Argoproj Argo Cd.
How do I fix CVE-2023-23947?
Upgrade github.com/argoproj/argo-cd to a fixed version for your release line: 2.3.17, 2.4.23, 2.5.11 or 2.6.2.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2023-23947 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-23947 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
- CVE-2022-29165 Argo CD will blindly trust JWT claims if anonymous access is enabled
- CVE-2023-40029 Cluster secret might leak in cluster details page in Argo CD
- CVE-2022-24768 Improper access control allows admin privilege escalation in Argo CD
- CVE-2024-21652 Argo CD vulnerable to Bypassing of Brute Force Protection via Application Crash and In-Memory Data Loss
Sources
Also known as GHSA-3jfq-742w-xg8j, GO-2023-1577.