Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-3605 lets an authenticated Vault user with certain glob-based KVv2 policy access delete secrets they should not be able to read or write. The issue is denial-of-service focused: sources state it does not expose secret values and does not cross namespaces. It is fixed in specified Vault releases.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for Vault environments because it can disrupt applications by deleting secrets. Prioritize upgrades where KVv2 and broad glob policies are used. Business risk is service disruption, not direct credential disclosure, according to the supplied sources.
Technical view
The flaw is a Vault KVv2 metadata and secret deletion policy bypass involving glob policies. A low-privileged authenticated user may delete unauthorized secrets, affecting integrity and availability, with CVSS 3.1 score 8.1. Sources map it to CWE-288 and CWE-639. Fixed versions are Vault CE 2.0.0 and Vault Enterprise 2.0.0, 1.21.5, 1.20.10, and 1.19.16.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where HashiCorp Vault KVv2 is used with policies containing glob patterns and users have authenticated access to matching paths. The provided affected-version metadata is incomplete, so validate against the HashiCorp advisory and installed Vault version.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not cite active exploitation, and KEV is false. Exploitation requires authenticated Vault access and a relevant KVv2 policy shape. The impact is unauthorized deletion, not secret disclosure, based on the provided advisory text.
Researcher notes
Do not assume broad compromise. The evidence supports an authenticated authorization bypass limited to KVv2 deletion behavior, with no namespace crossing and no secret read. Affected range details in the bundle are sparse; use vendor advisories to confirm exact product status.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Vault CE to 2.0.0 or later if applicable.
- Upgrade Vault Enterprise to 2.0.0, 1.21.5, 1.20.10, or 1.19.16.
- Review KVv2 policies using glob patterns and narrow access where feasible.
- Check HashiCorp guidance for any version-specific operational instructions.
- Restore deleted secrets from approved backups if impact is found.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Vault CE and Enterprise versions across all environments.
- Identify KVv2 mounts and policies containing glob patterns.
- Confirm users with KVv2 path access cannot delete unauthorized secrets after upgrade.
- Review Vault audit logs for unexpected KVv2 metadata or secret deletion events.
- Verify backups and recovery procedures for affected secret paths.
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-288: 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 lookupCWE-639: 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-3605 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
- High
- CVSS
- 8.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe 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:H/A:H2.85.2HashiCorpCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H2.85.2redhat-SADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Made public.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Reported to Red Hat.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
- 2026-04-17T04:01:18.559Z: Reported to Red Hat.
- 2026-04-17T02:44:42.032Z: Made public.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2026-05-vault-kvv2-metadata-and-secret-deletion-policy-bypass-denial-of-service/77342CVE reference, HashiCorp
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-3605CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2459105CVE reference, redhat-SADP · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-3605.jsonCVE reference, redhat-SADP · x_sadp-csaf-vex
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.
Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.