CVE-2026-70496 Privilege escalation in Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes 2
The search-v2-operator has excessive ClusterRole permissions allowing privilege escalation to cluster-admin level within Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-70496?
CVE-2026-70496 is a critical vulnerability in Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes 2, published on 19 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A flaw was found in search-v2-operator. The operator's ClusterRole has permissions equivalent to a cluster administrator, allowing it to impersonate other entities, write Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) configurations, approve Certificate Signing Requests (CSRs), and manage ManifestWork. This grants excessive privileges beyond what is necessary for the operator's intended function, potentially leading to privilege escalation within the cluster.
Weakness: CWE-250
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-70496?
How do I fix CVE-2026-70496?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-70496 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-70496 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-70496 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as CVE-2026-66790, GHSA-xg68-vc28-3f79.