CVE-2026-55225 Strimzi: Cross-namespace privilege escalation via `Kafka.spec.entityOperator`
Attackers with permission to create Kafka resources can escalate privileges to read or modify Secrets in arbitrary namespaces via the Entity Operator.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-55225?
CVE-2026-55225 is a high-severity vulnerability in strimzi-kafka-operator, published on 15 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Strimzi provides a way to run an Apache Kafka cluster on Kubernetes or OpenShift in various deployment configurations. In Strimzi 1.0.0 and earlier, an attacker who can create a Kafka custom resource can set Kafka.spec.entityOperator watchedNamespace to a target namespace, causing the Cluster Operator to create a Role with full Secret CRUD permissions there and bind it to the Entity Operator ServiceAccount in the attacker's namespace. The attacker can mint a token for that ServiceAccount and read or write Secrets in any target namespace where the Cluster Operator has been granted permissions, regardless of STRIMZI_NAMESPACE. This issue is fixed in versions 1.0.1 and 1.1.0.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-55225?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including io.strimzi:strimzi.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
io.strimzi:strimzi Maven | All versions | 1.0.1 |
io.strimzi:strimzi Maven | All versions | 1.0.1 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-55225?
Upgrade io.strimzi:strimzi to 1.0.1 or later.
Is CVE-2026-55225 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-55225 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-mw9r-p8xp-wx96.