# CVE-2023-37264: Pipelines do not validate child UIDs

> Attackers with TaskRun creation access can hijack pipeline execution by injecting malicious child tasks, violating supply chain integrity requirements.

- **Severity:** Low 3.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Jul 2023
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w2h3-vvvq-3m53, GO-2023-1901

## What is CVE-2023-37264?

CVE-2023-37264 is a low-severity missing authorization vulnerability in tektoncd pipeline, published on 7 Jul 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Tekton Pipelines project provides k8s-style resources for declaring CI/CD-style pipelines. Starting in version 0.35.0, pipelines do not validate child UIDs, which means that a user that has access to create TaskRuns can create their own Tasks that the Pipelines controller will accept as the child Task. While the software stores and validates the PipelineRun's (api version, kind, name, uid) in the child Run's OwnerReference, it only store (api version, kind, name) in the ChildStatusReference. This means that if a client had access to create TaskRuns on a cluster, they could create a child TaskRun for a pipeline with the same name + owner reference, and the Pipeline controller picks it up as if it was the original TaskRun. This is problematic since it can let users modify the config of Pipelines at runtime, which violates SLSA L2 Service Generated / Non-falsifiable requirements. This issue can be used to trick the Pipeline controller into associating unrelated Runs to the Pipeline, feeding its data through the rest of the Pipeline. This requires access to create TaskRuns, so impact may vary depending on one Tekton setup. If users already have unrestricted access to create any Task/PipelineRun, this does not grant any additional capabilities. As of time of publication, there are no known patches for this issue.

Weakness: CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-37264?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/tektoncd/pipeline. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 0.35.0 | None |
| `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 0.35.0 to 0.52.0 | None |
| `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 0.35.0 to 0.52.0 | None |

Products: Linuxfoundation Tekton Pipelines.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-37264?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-37264 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-37264 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-37264 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in tektoncd pipeline

- [CVE-2026-33211](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33211/): Tekton Pipelines git resolver has path traversal that allows reading arbitrary files from the resolver pod (critical 9.6)
- [CVE-2026-40161](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40161/): Tekton Pipelines: Git resolver API mode leaks system-configured API token to user-controlled serverURL (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2026-40938](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40938/): Tekton Pipelines: Git Resolver Unsanitized Revision Parameter Enables git Argument Injection Leading to RCE (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-25542](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-25542/): Tekton Pipelines: VerificationPolicy regex pattern bypass via substring matching (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2026-40924](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40924/): Tekton Pipelines: HTTP Resolver Unbounded Response Body Read Enables Denial of Service via Memory Exhaustion (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-37264 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-37264 is a low-severity missing authorization vulnerability in tektoncd pipeline, published on 7 Jul 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-37264 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 0.35.0; no fix listed
- github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 0.35.0 up to 0.52.0; no fix listed
- github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 0.35.0 up to 0.52.0; no fix listed

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-2023-37264/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37264/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-37264
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-37264
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-37264

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37264/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.