Description
A confused deputy attack exists in the StatefulSet controller that allows a user with namespace-scoped write permissions on StatefulSet and ControllerRevision objects to create a cross-namespace pod. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability would have full control over the resulting pod’s metadata and specification, including namespace selection. Note that the cross-namespace pod will be immediately deleted by the garbage collector unless the attacker is able to construct a valid StatefulSet OwnerReference. This would require referencing the UID of an existing StatefulSet in the victim’s namespace.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes | Kubernetes | v1.34.0 – ≤ v1.34.11, v1.35.0 – ≤ v1.35.8, v1.36.0 – ≤ v1.36.4, v1.37.0 – ≤ v1.37.0 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | kubernetes | 1.20.5+really1.20.2-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | kubernetes | 1.20.5+really1.20.2-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | kubernetes | 1.20.5+really1.20.2-1 | — |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | kubernetes | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2026-3544 Kubernetes (kubelet, kube-controller-manager): Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 3, 2026