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CVE-2026-61549
Published:July 14, 2026
Updated:August 02, 2026
Impact A privilege escalation vulnerability affects Woodpecker instances using the Kubernetes backend. The pipeline option "backend_options.kubernetes.serviceAccountName" was passed directly to the pod spec without any admin gating. Who is impacted: any operator running the Kubernetes backend. Any user with Push permission on a connected repository can run pipeline pods under an arbitrary ServiceAccount in the pipeline namespace, gaining that account's RBAC permissions. If a privileged ServiceAccount is reachable in that namespace, this can lead to secret exfiltration (database credentials, API keys, TLS certs) and full cluster takeover. Patches https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/pull/6792 Workarounds Operators who cannot upgrade immediately can mitigate by any of: - Restrict Push access on repositories connected to the Kubernetes-backed instance to trusted users only. - Harden the pipeline namespace: ensure no privileged ServiceAccount exists or is bound in the namespace where pipeline pods run; keep the "default" ServiceAccount minimally privileged. - Disable ServiceAccount token automounting for ServiceAccounts that should not be used by pipelines. - Enforce an admission policy (e.g. OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno, or a ValidatingAdmissionPolicy) that rejects pipeline pods setting an unexpected "serviceAccountName". - Use a dedicated, isolated namespace per org/instance with no sensitive RBAC bindings. Resources - Vulnerable option introduced in commit "609ba481b5e912f59aaae8ca7bc22b44523c5e37" - Affected versions: "v1.0.0" through "v3.15.0" - Source: "pipeline/backend/kubernetes/backend_options.go" (field "ServiceAccountName"), "pipeline/backend/kubernetes/pod.go" (assigned to pod spec with no gating)
Affected Packages
https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=v3.0.0 <v3.16.0
Fix Suggestion:
Update to version v3.16.0
go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3 (GO):
Affected version(s) >=v3.0.0 <v3.16.0
Fix Suggestion:
Update to version v3.16.0
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CVSS v4
Base Score:
8.2
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
PRESENT
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
HIGH
Vulnerable System Integrity
NONE
Vulnerable System Availability
NONE
Subsequent System Confidentiality
NONE
Subsequent System Integrity
NONE
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
CVSS v3
Base Score:
7.5
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
NONE
Availability
NONE
Weakness Type (CWE)
Improper Privilege Management
Missing Authorization