# CVE-2026-19274: IBM Instana Observability is affected by multiple vulnerabilities within Instana Agent container image

> An authenticated Kubernetes tenant can hijack or destroy another tenant's cluster-level RBAC permissions by exploiting namespace ambiguity in Instana Agent Operator.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v7m7-pq26-54fp

## What is CVE-2026-19274?

CVE-2026-19274 is a critical vulnerability in IBM Observability with Instana (Agent), published on 4 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM Observability with Instana (Agent) Build 1.0.303 through 1.0.323 IBM Instana Agent Operator could allow an authenticated Kubernetes tenant to hijack or permanently destroy another tenant's cluster-level RBAC permissions, caused by cluster-scoped RBAC objects being keyed solely by the bare CR name with no namespace disambiguation, allowing a same-named `InstanaAgent` CR in an attacker-controlled namespace to silently overwrite the shared `ClusterRoleBinding` or delete it outright and revoke the victim agent's cluster monitoring access.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-19274?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-19274?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-19274 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-19274 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-19274 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-19274 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-19274 is a critical vulnerability in IBM Observability with Instana (Agent), published on 4 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-19274 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM Observability with Instana (Agent). 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-2026-19274/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-19274/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-19274
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-19274
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-19274

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-19274/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.