CVE-2026-2270

StatefulSet and ControllerRevision write permissions allow cross-namespace pod creation

Published Oct 26, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 5.9 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
A confused deputy attack exists in the StatefulSet controller that allows a user with namespace-scoped write permissions on StatefulSet and ControllerRevision objects to create a cross-namespace pod. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability would have full control over the resulting pod’s metadata and specification, including namespace selection. Note that the cross-namespace pod will be immediately deleted by the garbage collector unless the attacker is able to construct a valid StatefulSet OwnerReference. This would require referencing the UID of an existing StatefulSet in the victim’s namespace.

Remediation

Vendor Solution

To mitigate this vulnerability, upgrade Kubernetes: https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/administer-cluster/cluster-upgrade/

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Kubernetes
Kubernetes kubernetes
Vendors & Products Kubernetes
Kubernetes kubernetes
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in Kubernetes kube-controller-manager. The StatefulSet controller restores ControllerRevision data onto the whole StatefulSet object, including metadata. A user with namespace-scoped write access to StatefulSet and ControllerRevision can cause the controller to create a pod in another namespace. That pod is deleted by garbage collection unless the attacker can name the UID of a StatefulSet in the target namespace. A confused deputy attack exists in the StatefulSet controller that allows a user with namespace-scoped write permissions on StatefulSet and ControllerRevision objects to create a cross-namespace pod. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability would have full control over the resulting pod’s metadata and specification, including namespace selection. Note that the cross-namespace pod will be immediately deleted by the garbage collector unless the attacker is able to construct a valid StatefulSet OwnerReference. This would require referencing the UID of an existing StatefulSet in the victim’s namespace.
Title kube-controller-manager: kube-controller-manager: StatefulSet and ControllerRevision write permissions allow cross-namespace pod creation StatefulSet and ControllerRevision write permissions allow cross-namespace pod creation
Weaknesses CWE-639
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in Kubernetes kube-controller-manager. The StatefulSet controller restores ControllerRevision data onto the whole StatefulSet object, including metadata. A user with namespace-scoped write access to StatefulSet and ControllerRevision can cause the controller to create a pod in another namespace. That pod is deleted by garbage collection unless the attacker can name the UID of a StatefulSet in the target namespace.
Title kube-controller-manager: kube-controller-manager: StatefulSet and ControllerRevision write permissions allow cross-namespace pod creation
Weaknesses CWE-1220
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
kubernetes
Published
Updated
Oct 29, 2026, 10:45 AM
Reserved
Feb 10, 2026, 3:58 AM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Oct 26, 2026, 11:17 PM
Modified
Oct 29, 2026, 11:17 AM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Sep 15, 2026, 4:00 PM