CVE-2026-66793

Governance-policy-addon-controller: governance-policy-addon-controller: arbitrary container image override via managedclusteraddon annotation enables rce on spoke

Published Aug 18, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 8.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
A flaw was found in the governance-policy-addon-controller component of Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes. A user with permissions to annotate the namespaced ManagedClusterAddOn resource can override the governance-policy container image. This allows an attacker to run a controlled image with cluster-admin privileges on the managed cluster, leading to arbitrary code execution and privilege escalation.

Remediation

Vendor Workaround

To mitigate this issue, restrict users' ability to annotate ManagedClusterAddOn resources within the hub cluster. Ensure that only trusted administrators have namespace-level annotate permissions on these resources. Regularly review and audit permissions related to ManagedClusterAddOn resources to prevent unauthorized modifications. If a service is restarted or reloaded, these permission changes will persist.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:acm:2 cpe:/a:redhat:acm:2.13::el9
cpe:/a:redhat:acm:2.15::el9
cpe:/a:redhat:acm:2.17::el9
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat advanced Cluster Management For Kubernetes
Vendors & Products Redhat advanced Cluster Management For 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 the governance-policy-addon-controller component of Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes. A user with permissions to annotate the namespaced ManagedClusterAddOn resource can override the governance-policy container image. This allows an attacker to run a controlled image with cluster-admin privileges on the managed cluster, leading to arbitrary code execution and privilege escalation.
Title Governance-policy-addon-controller: governance-policy-addon-controller: arbitrary container image override via managedclusteraddon annotation enables rce on spoke
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat acm
Weaknesses CWE-20
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:acm:2
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat acm
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
redhat
Published
Updated
Sep 5, 2026, 2:23 PM
Reserved
Jul 27, 2026, 5:51 PM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Aug 18, 2026, 3:17 PM
Modified
Aug 27, 2026, 4:16 AM
Severity
Important
Public date
Aug 18, 2026, 2:25 PM