# CVE-2026-40938: Tekton Pipelines: Git Resolver Unsanitized Revision Parameter Enables git Argument Injection Leading to RCE > Attackers can inject git flags via the revision parameter to execute arbitrary code on resolver pods, leading to cluster-wide secret exfiltration. - **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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:** 21 Apr 2026 - **Updated:** 7 Sep 2026 - **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2026-KA98572, GHSA-94jr-7pqp-xhcq, GO-2026-5272 ## What is CVE-2026-40938? CVE-2026-40938 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in tektoncd pipeline, published on 21 Apr 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description Tekton Pipelines project provides k8s-style resources for declaring CI/CD-style pipelines. Starting in version 1.0.0 and prior to versions 1.0.2, 1.3.4, 1.6.2, 1.9.3, and 1.11.1, the git resolver's revision parameter is passed directly as a positional argument to git fetch without any validation that it does not begin with a - character. Because git parses flags from mixed positional arguments, an attacker can inject arbitrary git fetch flags such as --upload-pack=. Combined with the validateRepoURL function explicitly permitting URLs that begin with / (local filesystem paths), a tenant who can submit ResolutionRequest objects can chain these two behaviors to execute an arbitrary binary on the resolver pod. The tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount holds cluster-wide get/list/watch on all Secrets, so code execution on the resolver pod enables full cluster-wide secret exfiltration. Versions 1.0.2, 1.3.4, 1.6.2, 1.9.3, and 1.11.1 fix the issue. Weakness: CWE-88 (Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-40938? 11 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 1.0.0 | 1.0.2, 1.3.4, 1.6.2, 1.9.3, 1.11.1 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.0.0 | 1.0.2 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.0.0 | 1.0.2 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.10.0 | 1.11.1 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.10.0 | 1.11.1 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.2.0 | 1.3.4 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.2.0 | 1.3.4 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.4.0 | 1.6.2 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.4.0 | 1.6.2 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.7.0 | 1.9.3 | | `github.com/tektoncd/pipeline` | Go | From 1.7.0 | 1.9.3 | Products: Linuxfoundation Tekton Pipelines. ## How do I fix CVE-2026-40938? Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to a fixed version for your release line: 1.0.2, 1.3.4, 1.6.2 or 1.9.3. ## Is CVE-2026-40938 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-40938 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-2026-25542](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) - [CVE-2026-33022](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33022/): Tekton Pipelines: Controller can panic when setting long resolver names in TaskRun/PipelineRun (medium 6.5) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-40938 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-40938 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in tektoncd pipeline, published on 21 Apr 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-2026-40938 exists. Affected packages and fixed versions: - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.0.0; fixed in 1.0.2, 1.3.4, 1.6.2, 1.9.3, 1.11.1 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.0.0; fixed in 1.0.2 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.0.0; fixed in 1.0.2 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.10.0; fixed in 1.11.1 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.10.0; fixed in 1.11.1 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.2.0; fixed in 1.3.4 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.2.0; fixed in 1.3.4 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.4.0; fixed in 1.6.2 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.4.0; fixed in 1.6.2 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.7.0; fixed in 1.9.3 - github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (Go): affected from 1.7.0; fixed in 1.9.3 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-2026-40938/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40938/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-40938 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40938 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-40938 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40938/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.