CVE-2026-55225: Strimzi Kafka Operator privilege escalation in Kafka.spec.entityOperator

CVE-2026-55225 · Severity: high · CVSS 8 · Published 2026-09-15

Strimzi is a tool used to manage Apache Kafka clusters on Kubernetes. A security flaw allows a user with limited access in one area of the system to gain full control over sensitive credentials (Secrets) in other areas. This could lead to unauthorized data access or the ability to disrupt services across different parts of the organization's infrastructure.

Technologies: io.strimzi:strimzi (Maven), Strimzi Kafka Operator. Vendors: Maven, Strimzi.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-55225 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-55225 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-55225?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 8, published 15 September 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
io.strimzi:strimzi (Maven) <= 1.0.0, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.0.1; Strimzi Kafka Operator <= 1.0.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-55225?
Yes. io.strimzi:strimzi (Maven): upgrade to 1.0.1 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-55225 attacked?
It is attacked from the adjacent network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-55225?
Check whether you run io.strimzi:strimzi (Maven) or Strimzi Kafka Operator at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • io.strimzi:strimzi (Maven): upgrade to 1.0.1 or later
    # set io.strimzi:strimzi to 1.0.1 in your pom.xml or build.gradle

Technical details

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Strimzi Kafka Operator due to improper privilege management in the Topic and User operators. When the 'watchedNamespace' field is configured in a Kafka custom resource, the Cluster Operator automatically creates a Role with full CRUD permissions on Secrets in the target namespace and binds it to the entity operator ServiceAccount. An attacker with permissions to create Kafka resources in one namespace can specify a different target namespace to gain unauthorized access to its Secrets. This exploit is possible for any namespace where the Cluster Operator has existing permissions. The issue is fixed in versions 1.0.1 and 1.1.0 by requiring an explicit environment variable to enable the watched namespace feature.

Affected products

  • Strimzi strimzi-kafka-operator <= 1.0.0

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-55225
  • GHSA-mw9r-p8xp-wx96

Timeline

  • 2026-06-17: disclosed
  • 2026-06-18: advisory
  • 2026-06-18: patched

References

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