# CVE-2026-77524: KEDA: Privilege escalation from namespace admin to cluster admin via KEDA TriggerAuthentication


- **Severity:** Critical 9.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 20 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-108090, ECHO-3e67-ceec-515b, GHSA-637c-6jxx-4rwm, GO-2026-6776, MINI-27v4-4q64-34r3, MINI-34c3-v8hh-vc5v, MINI-6mcp-6c94-vfc4, MINI-h6m9-rf43-w669, MINI-jwfr-7cw4-86fg, MINI-wh42-vjq4-w663, ROOT-APP-GOBINARY-CVE-2026-77524

## What is CVE-2026-77524?

CVE-2026-77524 is a critical vulnerability in kedacore keda, published on 14 Oct 2026. 

### Official description

KEDA is a Kubernetes-based Event Driven Autoscaling component. In version 2.20.2 and earlier, a namespace administrator who can create TriggerAuthentication and ScaledObject resources can set hashiCorpVault.address to a tenant-controlled endpoint and select Kubernetes authentication without an explicit credential. KEDA then uses the operator pod's projected ServiceAccount token and sends it to that endpoint as a Vault login credential. The JWT-shape filter from the prior CVE-2025-68476 remediation accepts the operator token because its subject is a Kubernetes ServiceAccount, so the attacker can obtain the operator's cluster-wide permissions, including broad Secret reads and workload or admission-related operations. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.21.0.

Weakness: CWE-918 (Server-Side Request Forgery), CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-77524?

6 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/kedacore/keda and github.com/kedacore/keda/v2.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/kedacore/keda` | Go | All versions | None |
| `github.com/kedacore/keda` | Go | All versions to 1.5.0 | None |
| `github.com/kedacore/keda` | Go | All versions to 1.5.0 | None |
| `github.com/kedacore/keda/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.21.0 |
| `github.com/kedacore/keda/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.21.0 |
| `github.com/kedacore/keda/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.21.0 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-77524?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-77524 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-77524 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-77524 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-77524 is a critical vulnerability in kedacore keda, published on 14 Oct 2026. 
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-77524 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/kedacore/keda (Go): affected all versions; no fix listed
- github.com/kedacore/keda (Go): affected all versions up to 1.5.0; no fix listed
- github.com/kedacore/keda (Go): affected all versions up to 1.5.0; no fix listed
- github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.21.0
- github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.21.0
- github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.21.0

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-2026-77524/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-77524/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-77524
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-77524
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-77524

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-77524/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.