Executive brief
Argo Workflows is an automation engine used to run complex parallel jobs on Kubernetes clusters. A security flaw allows users with permission to submit workflows to bypass administrative security restrictions by injecting custom configuration patches. This could allow an attacker to run unauthorized code with high privileges, potentially gaining access to sensitive data or the underlying host system.
Technical details
A vulnerability in Argo Workflows arises from the way the controller merges workflow specifications. When a user submits a Workflow that references a WorkflowTemplate, the 'podSpecPatch' field in the user's submission takes precedence over the template's settings during the merge process in 'JoinWorkflowSpec'. The controller fails to perform security validation on the contents of this patch, and the 'templateReferencing: Strict' mode only verifies the presence of a template reference rather than restricting additional fields. Consequently, an authenticated user can inject dangerous Kubernetes PodSpec settings (e.g., privileged: true, hostPath mounts, or root UID) to bypass administrative guardrails. The issue is fixed in versions 3.7.11 and 4.0.2.
Affected products
- argoproj Argo Workflows >= 2.9.0, < 3.7.11; >= 4.0.0, < 4.0.2
- Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25 Affected
Timeline
- 2026-03-11: disclosed
- 2026-03-11: advisory
- 2026-03-11: patched
References
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/security/advisories/GHSA-3wf5-g532-rcrr
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:10184
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-31892
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2446551
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-31892.json