LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2026-62290: cert-manager: Direct ACME Challenge resources can bypass Issuer DNS01 solver policy and use ClusterIssuer DNS credentials

cert-manager adds certificates and certificate issuers as resource types in Kubernetes clusters, and simplifies the process of obtaining, renewing and using those certificates. From 1.18.0 until 1.19.6 and 1.20.3, Challenge resources under acme.cert-manager.io can be created directly by namespace users without admission validation tying the Challenge to an Order, owner reference, or Issuer-selected solver, allowing attacker-controlled Challenge.spec.solver values referencing a ClusterIssuer to bypass DNS01 solver selectors such as dnsZones, dnsNames, and matchLabels and cause cert-manager to use ClusterIssuer DNS credentials for attacker-selected provider settings and DNS names, including disclosure of X-Api-User and X-Api-Key headers for acme-dns. This issue is fixed in versions 1.19.6 and 1.20.3.

HighCVSS 7.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A Kubernetes namespace user with permission to create cert-manager ACME Challenge resources could bypass DNS01 policy checks and make cert-manager use ClusterIssuer DNS credentials. This can expose sensitive DNS provider credentials and allow limited unauthorized DNS-related actions. Fixed versions are available.

Executive priority

Treat as high priority for multi-tenant or shared Kubernetes platforms. The business risk is credential exposure and policy bypass around DNS automation, not unauthenticated remote compromise. Patch promptly and verify RBAC boundaries.

Technical view

CVE-2026-62290 affects cert-manager 1.18.0 through before 1.19.6 and 1.20.0 through before 1.20.3. Directly created acme.cert-manager.io Challenge resources were not sufficiently tied to an Order, owner reference, or Issuer-selected solver, bypassing DNS01 solver selectors and potentially disclosing acme-dns headers.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely in Kubernetes clusters running affected cert-manager versions where namespace users or workloads can create or modify ACME Challenge resources and ClusterIssuers use DNS01 solvers. Risk is higher where shared ClusterIssuer DNS credentials cover sensitive DNS zones.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires local Kubernetes API access with permissions to create Challenge resources, so this is primarily an authenticated tenant, namespace, or compromised-workload risk.

Researcher notes

Key validation points are affected versions, Challenge RBAC exposure, DNS01 ClusterIssuer usage, and evidence of direct Challenge creation. The public bundle names fixes and code changes but does not provide evidence of public weaponization or KEV status.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade cert-manager to 1.19.6 or 1.20.3.
  • Review vendor advisory and release notes before rollout.
  • Restrict RBAC for acme.cert-manager.io Challenge creation and updates.
  • Rotate exposed DNS provider credentials if suspicious Challenge activity exists.
  • Review ClusterIssuer DNS01 credential scope and reduce unnecessary privileges.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory cert-manager versions across all Kubernetes clusters.
  • Check RBAC grants for Challenge create, update, and patch permissions.
  • Identify ClusterIssuers using DNS01 solvers and shared DNS credentials.
  • Review audit logs for direct Challenge creation by namespace users.
  • Look for unusual solver values, DNS names, or provider settings.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
9

Public sources used

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 · medium confidence lookup

CWE-863: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup

Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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
description · low confidence lookup

Container 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 lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-62290 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
High
CVSS
7.3 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
8Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

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
7.3CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N24.7GitHub_M

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.3High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2026-62290Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
cert-managercert-manager>= 1.18.0, < 1.19.6, >= 1.20.0, < 1.20.3Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-863

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

CWE-863 · source CWE mapping

Incorrect Authorization

Incorrect Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs