CVE-2025-13888 Openshift-gitops-operator: openshift gitops: namespace admin cluster takeover via privileged jobs
Namespace admins can escalate privileges to gain root access on master nodes by creating malicious ArgoCD Custom Resources in OpenShift GitOps.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-13888?
CVE-2025-13888 is a critical vulnerability in Red Hat OpenShift GitOps, published on 15 Dec 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A flaw was found in OpenShift GitOps. Namespace admins can create ArgoCD Custom Resources (CRs) that trick the system into granting them elevated permissions in other namespaces, including privileged namespaces. An authenticated attacker can then use these elevated permissions to create privileged workloads that run on master nodes, effectively giving them root access to the entire cluster.
Weakness: CWE-266
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-13888?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/redhat-developer/gitops-operator.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/redhat-developer/gitops-operator Go | All versions | None |
github.com/redhat-developer/gitops-operator Go | All versions | 1.16.2 |
github.com/redhat-developer/gitops-operator Go | All versions | 1.16.2 |
How do I fix CVE-2025-13888?
Upgrade github.com/redhat-developer/gitops-operator to 1.16.2 or later.
Is CVE-2025-13888 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-13888 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-pcqx-8qww-7f4v, GO-2025-4242.