# CVE-2026-22039: Kyverno Cross-Namespace Privilege Escalation via Policy apiCall

> Authenticated users can escalate privileges and access cross-namespace resources by exploiting Kyverno's policy apiCall feature to bypass namespace isolation.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 27 Jan 2026
- **Also known as:** BIT-kyverno-2026-22039, CLEANSTART-2026-KS35076, GHSA-8p9x-46gm-qfx2, GO-2026-4381, MINI-2547-2gp7-7c93, MINI-38gc-3r2h-4qq2, MINI-489c-r79v-5x92, MINI-4r6c-gc9v-fm6p, MINI-5gmq-9cxc-757j, MINI-5pc3-4qrc-2gpg, MINI-63v9-cj9g-2wph, MINI-7rj9-qq3g-w42q, MINI-8wr4-xwp4-7x7q, MINI-cpr4-mhhf-5hcv, MINI-pf52-mpgh-vffc, MINI-w4hp-q29f-gp3r, MINI-wh22-f3x5-49xw

## What is CVE-2026-22039?

CVE-2026-22039 is a critical vulnerability in kyverno, published on 27 Jan 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Kyverno is a policy engine designed for cloud native platform engineering teams. Versions prior to 1.16.3 and 1.15.3 have a critical authorization boundary bypass in namespaced Kyverno Policy apiCall. The resolved `urlPath` is executed using the Kyverno admission controller ServiceAccount, with no enforcement that the request is limited to the policy’s namespace. As a result, any authenticated user with permission to create a namespaced Policy can cause Kyverno to perform Kubernetes API requests using Kyverno’s admission controller identity, targeting any API path allowed by that ServiceAccount’s RBAC. This breaks namespace isolation by enabling cross-namespace reads (for example, ConfigMaps and, where permitted, Secrets) and allows cluster-scoped or cross-namespace writes (for example, creating ClusterPolicies) by controlling the urlPath through context variable substitution. Versions 1.16.3 and 1.15.3 contain a patch for the vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-918 (Server-Side Request Forgery), CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-22039?

6 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/kyverno/kyverno and kyverno. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/kyverno/kyverno` | Go | All versions | 1.15.3, 1.16.3 |
| `github.com/kyverno/kyverno` | Go | All versions | 1.15.3 |
| `github.com/kyverno/kyverno` | Go | All versions | 1.15.3 |
| `github.com/kyverno/kyverno` | Go | From 1.16.0-rc.1 | 1.16.3 |
| `github.com/kyverno/kyverno` | Go | From 1.16.0-rc.1 | 1.16.3 |
| `kyverno` | Bitnami | All versions | 1.15.3, 1.16.3 |

Products: Kyverno Kyverno.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-22039?

Upgrade github.com/kyverno/kyverno to a fixed version for your release line: 1.15.3 or 1.16.3.

## Is CVE-2026-22039 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-22039 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in kyverno

- [CVE-2026-4789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-4789/): CVE-2026-4789 (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-46342](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-46342/): Kyverno vulnerable to bypass of policy rules that use namespace selectors in match statements (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2026-41323](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41323/): Kyverno: ServiceAccount token leaked to external servers via apiCall service URL (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-40868](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40868/): kyverno apicall servicecall implicit bearer token injection leaks kyverno serviceaccount token (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2022-47633](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-47633/): kyverno verifyImages rule bypass possible with malicious proxy/registry (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-22039 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-22039 is a critical vulnerability in kyverno, published on 27 Jan 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-22039 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/kyverno/kyverno (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.15.3, 1.16.3
- github.com/kyverno/kyverno (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.15.3
- github.com/kyverno/kyverno (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 1.15.3
- github.com/kyverno/kyverno (Go): affected from 1.16.0-rc.1; fixed in 1.16.3
- github.com/kyverno/kyverno (Go): affected from 1.16.0-rc.1; fixed in 1.16.3
- kyverno (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 1.15.3, 1.16.3

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-2026-22039/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22039/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-22039
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22039
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-22039

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22039/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.