# CVE-2026-72648: Information disclosure in Eck Operator

> Attackers with namespace read access can retrieve cleartext Elasticsearch service account tokens from workload specifications, bypassing Kubernetes Secret protections.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 13 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-994r-4f38-cvgv

## What is CVE-2026-72648?

CVE-2026-72648 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Elastic Eck Operator, published on 13 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in an Environment Variable (CWE-526) in Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK) can lead to information disclosure via Retrieve Embedded Sensitive Data (CAPEC-37). When ECK reconciles a Fleet Server resource that authenticates to Elasticsearch with a service account token, the token is written into the generated workload specification in cleartext rather than being referenced from the Kubernetes Secret that ECK maintains for the other credentials on the same path. Any principal able to read workload specifications in the affected namespace can therefore read a live Elasticsearch credential, even when Kubernetes RBAC does not grant that principal access to Secrets.

Weakness: CWE-526 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in an Environment Variable)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72648?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Elastic Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-72648?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-72648 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-72648 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72648 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Elastic Eck Operator

- [CVE-2020-7010](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7010/): Cryptographic Issues in ECK (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-72640](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72640/): Unintended Proxy or Intermediary in Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes Leading to Cross-Namespace Secret Disclosure (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2026-78609](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78609/): Incorrect Authorization in Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes Leading to Unauthorized Modification of Data (medium 5.4)
- [CVE-2023-31416](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31416/): Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK) secret token configuration issue (medium 5.3)
- [CVE-2026-78600](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-78600/): Incomplete Cleanup in Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes Leading to Unauthorized Cross-Namespace Credential Retention (low 3.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72648 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72648 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Elastic Eck Operator, published on 13 Aug 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72648 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Elastic Eck Operator. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2026-72648/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72648/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72648
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72648
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72648

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72648/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.