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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2023-22736: argo-cd Controller reconciles apps outside configured namespaces when sharding is enabled

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 34/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.80% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 56.9% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
  • Fixed version: github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (Go) 2.5.8, 2.6.0-rc5.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (Go) 2.5.8, 2.6.0-rc5 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. Versions starting with 2.5.0-rc1 and above, prior to 2.5.8, and version 2.6.0-rc4, are vulnerable to an authorization bypass bug which allows a malicious Argo CD user to deploy Applications outside the configured allowed namespaces. Reconciled Application namespaces are specified as a comma-delimited list of glob patterns. When sharding is enabled on the Application controller, it does not enforce that list of patterns when reconciling Applications. For example, if Application namespaces are configured to be argocd-*, the Application controller may reconcile an Application installed in a namespace called other, even though it does not start with argocd-. Reconciliation of the out-of-bounds Application is only triggered when the Application is updated, so the attacker must be able to cause an update operation on the Application resource. This bug only applies to users who have explicitly enabled the "apps-in-any-namespace" feature by setting `application.namespaces` in the argocd-cmd-params-cm ConfigMap or otherwise setting the `--application-namespaces` flags on the Application controller and API server components. The apps-in-any-namespace feature is in beta as of this Security Advisory's publish date. The bug is also limited to Argo CD instances where sharding is enabled by increasing the `replicas` count for the Application controller. Finally, the AppProjects' `sourceNamespaces` field acts as a secondary check against this exploit. To cause reconciliation of an Application in an out-of-bounds namespace, an AppProject must be available which permits Applications in the out-of-bounds namespace. A patch for this vulnerability has been released in versions 2.5.8 and 2.6.0-rc5. As a workaround, running only one replica of the Application controller will prevent exploitation of this bug. Making sure all AppProjects' sourceNamespaces are restricted within the confines of the configured Application namespaces will also prevent exploitation of this bug.

HighCVSS 8.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jan 26, 2023
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.8% · 56th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

34

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
34 / 40 · 8.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.8%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
8.5
CNA · GitHub_M
8.6
0.1 point gap

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
argoprojargo cd

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • argoproj argo cd2.5.0 and later · before 2.5.8
  • argoproj argo cd2.6.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • argoproj argo-cd

    • >= 2.5.0=rc1, < 2.5.8, = 2.6.0-rc4, < 2.6.0-rc5affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Gogithub.com/argoproj/argo-cdfrom 0—
Gogithub.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2from 2.5.0-rc1 · before 2.5.82.5.8
Gogithub.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2from 2.6.0-rc4 · before 2.6.0-rc52.6.0-rc5

Same product

argoproj: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2025-55190Argo CD: Project API Token Exposes Repository Credentials
    41Plan
  • CVE-2022-29165Argo CD will blindly trust JWT claims if anonymous access is enabled
    41Plan
  • CVE-2024-21652Argo CD vulnerable to Bypassing of Brute Force Protection via Application Crash and In-Memory Data Loss
    39Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2022-31105Jul 12, 2022 · Argo CD's certificate verification is skipped for connections to OIDC providers
    38Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-22482Jan 26, 2023 · JWT audience claim is not verified
    35Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-25163Feb 8, 2023 · Argo CD leaks repository credentials in user-facing error messages and in logs
    26Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Go:github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v22.5.8Package registry (OSV)
Go:github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v22.6.0-rc5Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-862 · Missing Authorization

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records