Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-31016 lets an authenticated Argo CD user with deployment rights crash the repo-server through uncontrolled memory use. The business impact is disruption to Kubernetes deployment workflows, not data theft or code execution according to the source bundle.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for shared or multi-tenant Argo CD environments because a low-privileged authorized user can disrupt deployment operations. The issue is availability-focused and rated medium, so urgency depends on deployment criticality and user trust boundaries.
Technical view
Argo CD versions v0.7.0 and later, before fixed 2.1.16, 2.2.10, and 2.3.5 releases, are affected by CWE-400 uncontrolled resource consumption in repo-server. The CVSS vector is network-accessible, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, with high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Argo CD environments where users are authenticated and authorized to deploy Applications from repositories they control or can influence, especially affected versions before 2.1.16, 2.2.10, or 2.3.5.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not identify active exploitation, and KEV status is false. Abuse requires an authenticated Argo CD user with Application deployment authorization and a repository containing, or made to contain, a large file.
Researcher notes
The available evidence supports a denial-of-service condition in repo-server caused by uncontrolled memory consumption. The source bundle provides affected version ranges and fixed versions, but no exploit telemetry, workaround, or deeper root-cause details beyond large-file handling.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Argo CD to 2.3.5, 2.2.10, 2.1.16, or later.
- Treat earlier affected releases as upgrade candidates during maintenance planning.
- Review vendor guidance; the advisory states there are no known workarounds.
- Until upgraded, confirm deployment permissions are limited to trusted users.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Argo CD versions across clusters and compare them with affected ranges.
- Identify users authorized to deploy Applications from writable or influenced repositories.
- Check whether repo-server restarts or memory exhaustion events occurred around deployment activity.
- Confirm upgraded instances report fixed Argo CD release versions.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-400: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupContainer behavior lookup
The affected technology mentions containers, so container-specific ATT&CK technique review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-31016 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H2.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-jhqp-vf4w-rpwqCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.