Vulnerability · Published Oct 20, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-113708Argo CD: A Kustomize remote ref can run commands in the repo-server
Critical 9.9
In plain English
A critical-severity argument injection in argo-cd from argoproj. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.7% (higher than 52% of all known vulnerabilities).
Official description
Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. From 2.7.0 until 3.3.15, 3.4.10, 3.5.4, and 3.6.0-rc2, Kustomize passes ref or version query values from remote resource, base, or component URLs to git fetch without an end-of-options separator. A leading-hyphen value can be parsed as --upload-pack and execute a command inside argocd-repo-server when the remote uses a local transport such as file://. Git does not run the supplied command for an https:// remote. The local transport does not leave the pod, so blocking repo-server egress does not prevent the execution. The command runs as the repo-server user, can read repository credentials and other process-accessible data, and can return output through manifest-generation errors. An attacker can commit a Kustomization to a Git repository that an Application builds or upload files through POST /api/v1/applications/manifestsWithFiles, also exposed by argocd app diff --local --server-side-generate. The upload path requires only Application get permission on an existing Application, without Application update or sync permission or repository write access. Kustomize 5.0.0 introduced acceptance of file://, whereas 4.5.7 rejects that transport; replacing the affected Kustomize with a newer version alone does not correct the missing option separator. This issue is fixed in versions 3.3.15, 3.4.10, 3.5.4, and 3.6.0-rc2.
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-88 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-9v9p-x54c-58gc x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-j6cw-g6p4-7hch x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/pull/12299 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/commit/25badeb7a1e154805340bb7237e0ce671f3772dd x_refsource_MISC
- https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/user-guide/kustomize/#custom-kustomize-versions x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v3.3.15 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v3.4.10 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v3.5.4 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v3.6.0-rc2 x_refsource_MISC