Vulnerability · Published Aug 28, 2026 · Assigned by VulnCheck
CVE-2026-82266Redpanda Admin API Unauthenticated Superuser Access via Default Configuration
Critical 9.8
In plain English
A critical-severity missing authentication in redpanda from redpanda-data. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.6% (higher than 50% of all known vulnerabilities).
Severity (CVSS 3.1)9.8Critical
Exploit odds (30 days)0.6%top 50.0% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known
Official description
Redpanda through 26.2.2 binds the Admin API to 0.0.0.0:9644 with admin_api_require_auth defaulting to false, treating unauthenticated requests as superusers. Attackers can reach port 9644 without credentials to create and delete broker accounts, modify cluster configuration, and disrupt partition replication.
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| redpanda-data | redpanda | 0 – through 26.2.2 |
Weakness: CWE-306 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
- GitHub Issue #30989 issue-tracking
- https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda product
- Vulnerable code: redpanda.yaml technical-description
- Vulnerable code: request_auth.cc technical-description
- VulnCheck Advisory: Redpanda Admin API Unauthenticated Superuser Access via Default Configuration third-party-advisory