CVE-2026-55225
In Strimzi 1.0.0 and earlier, an attacker who can create a Kafka custom resource can set Kafka.spec.entityOperator watchedNamespace to a target namespace, causing the Cluster Operator to create a Role with full Secret CRUD permissions there and bind it…
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.29%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
Strimzi provides a way to run an Apache Kafka cluster on Kubernetes or OpenShift in various deployment configurations. In Strimzi 1.0.0 and earlier, an attacker who can create a Kafka custom resource can set Kafka.spec.entityOperator watchedNamespace to a target namespace, causing the Cluster Operator to create a Role with full Secret CRUD permissions there and bind it to the Entity Operator ServiceAccount in the attacker's namespace. The attacker can mint a token for that ServiceAccount and read or write Secrets in any target namespace where the Cluster Operator has been granted permissions, regardless of STRIMZI_NAMESPACE. This issue is fixed in versions 1.0.1 and 1.1.0.
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.0 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.29% probability · 22th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-269, CWE-441, CWE-250
- Source
- security-advisories@github.com
EPSS 0.3% since 27 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/commit/b3bfeffcc30754c3e62e6f4afd8a76942cac440d
- https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/commit/f6c5207ba7ec89b46ce6720b8638d647e556a261
- https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/pull/12844
- https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/releases/tag/1.0.1
- https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/releases/tag/1.1.0
- https://github.com/strimzi/strimzi-kafka-operator/security/advisories/GHSA-mw9r-p8xp-wx96
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54435
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-55225
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2490275
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-55225.json
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.