LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2023-37264: Pipelines do not validate child UIDs

Tekton Pipelines project provides k8s-style resources for declaring CI/CD-style pipelines. Starting in version 0.35.0, pipelines do not validate child UIDs, which means that a user that has access to create TaskRuns can create their own Tasks that the Pipelines controller will accept as the child Task. While the software stores and validates the PipelineRun's (api version, kind, name, uid) in the child Run's OwnerReference, it only store (api version, kind, name) in the ChildStatusReference. This means that if a client had access to create TaskRuns on a cluster, they could create a child TaskRun for a pipeline with the same name + owner reference, and the Pipeline controller picks it up as if it was the original TaskRun. This is problematic since it can let users modify the config of Pipelines at runtime, which violates SLSA L2 Service Generated / Non-falsifiable requirements. This issue can be used to trick the Pipeline controller into associating unrelated Runs to the Pipeline, feeding its data through the rest of the Pipeline. This requires access to create TaskRuns, so impact may vary depending on one Tekton setup. If users already have unrestricted access to create any Task/PipelineRun, this does not grant any additional capabilities. As of time of publication, there are no known patches for this issue.

LowCVSS 3.7Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw affects Tekton Pipelines CI/CD environments. A user who can create TaskRuns may cause the controller to treat an unrelated run as part of a PipelineRun, potentially influencing pipeline data and runtime configuration. The published severity is low, but shared CI/CD clusters with delegated TaskRun creation deserve review.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted CI/CD integrity risk, not an emergency internet-wide vulnerability. Prioritize review where Tekton supports shared build infrastructure, multi-tenant engineering teams, or supply-chain assurance requirements such as SLSA L2.

Technical view

Tekton Pipelines 0.35.0 through 0.49.0 do not validate child UIDs consistently. OwnerReference includes the PipelineRun UID, but ChildStatusReference stores only API version, kind, and name. This can let the controller associate an unrelated Run or TaskRun with a PipelineRun. The issue is CWE-345 with CVSS 3.1 score 3.7.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in Kubernetes clusters using Tekton Pipelines 0.35.0 to 0.49.0 where non-administrative users or automation can create TaskRuns. If users already have unrestricted Task or PipelineRun creation privileges, the advisory says this may not add meaningful capability.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Abuse requires TaskRun creation access and depends on Tekton RBAC and tenancy design. The advisory says no known patches existed at publication, so current vendor guidance should be checked before remediation decisions.

Researcher notes

The core issue is inconsistent identity binding between OwnerReference and ChildStatusReference. Validate exposure through RBAC and controller behavior, not just version presence. The strongest business impact is pipeline integrity and provenance trust rather than availability or broad data compromise.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory Tekton Pipelines versions and flag 0.35.0 through 0.49.0 deployments.
  • Restrict TaskRun creation to trusted users, service accounts, and namespaces.
  • Review current Tekton guidance; the advisory stated no known patch at publication.
  • Isolate sensitive pipelines from tenants allowed to create TaskRuns.
  • Monitor for unexpected TaskRuns associated with PipelineRuns.

Validation and detection

  • Check cluster RBAC for principals with create access on TaskRuns.
  • Identify shared namespaces where untrusted users can create Tekton resources.
  • Review PipelineRun status for unexpected child run associations.
  • Compare TaskRun owner references and pipeline status references during incident review.
  • Confirm whether current Tekton releases or advisories supersede the publication note.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
5

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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 · low confidence lookup

CWE-345: 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 lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-37264 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Low
CVSS
3.7 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
3.7CVSS 3.1LowCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N1.22.5Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

3.7Low
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2023-37264Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
tektoncdpipeline>= 0.35.0, <= 0.49.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-345 · source CWE mapping

Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity

Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.