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CVE-2026-70496

CRITICAL 9.9

Published 2026-08-19 · Last modified 2026-08-27

A flaw was found in search-v2-operator. The operator's ClusterRole has permissions equivalent to a cluster administrator, allowing it to impersonate other entities, write Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) configurations, approve Certificate Signing Requests (CSRs), and manage ManifestWork. This grants excessive privileges beyond what is necessary for the operator's intended function, potentially leading to privilege escalation within the cluster.

ELEVATED IMPACT

Severe if exploited (CVSS 9.9), but no known exploitation and low modeled probability. Patch on a normal cadence.

Exploitation likelihood

0.4%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 36th percentile

○ In CISA KEV ○ Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

9.9CVSS 3.1 · CRITICAL

  • ConfidentialityHigh
  • IntegrityHigh
  • AvailabilityHigh

What an attacker needs

  • ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
  • ⚠Privileges: Requires a low-privilege account
  • ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-70496/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-70496/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Red Hat

Products Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management For Kubernetes 2.11 Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management For Kubernetes 2.13 Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management For Kubernetes 2.14 Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management For Kubernetes 2.15 Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management For Kubernetes 2.16 Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management For Kubernetes 2.17 Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management For Kubernetes 2

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-250: Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

CVSS vector

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

All CVSS metrics

  • CRITICAL 9.9 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • CRITICAL 9.9 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

Advisories

Technical & other

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS