# CVE-2026-23634: Pepr Overly Permissive RBAC ClusterRole in Admin Mode


- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Jan 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w54x-r83c-x79q

## What is CVE-2026-23634?

CVE-2026-23634 is a vulnerability in defenseunicorns pepr, published on 16 Jan 2026. 

### Official description

Pepr is a type safe K8s middleware. Prior to 1.0.5 , Pepr defaults to a cluster-admin RBAC configuration and does not explicitly force or enforce least-privilege guidance for module authors. The default behavior exists to make the “getting started” experience smooth: new users can experiment with Pepr and create resources dynamically without needing to pre-configure RBAC. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.0.5.

Weakness: CWE-272 (Least Privilege Violation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23634?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including pepr. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `pepr` | npm | All versions | 1.0.5 |
| `pepr` | npm | All versions | 1.0.5 |

Products: Defenseunicorns Pepr.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23634?

Upgrade pepr to 1.0.5 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-23634 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-23634 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23634 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23634 is a vulnerability in defenseunicorns pepr, published on 16 Jan 2026. 
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-23634 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- pepr (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 1.0.5
- pepr (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 1.0.5

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-2026-23634/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23634/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23634
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23634
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23634

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23634/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.