CVE-2023-23947

Argo CD users with any cluster secret update access may update out-of-bounds cluster secrets

HIGH
8.5
CVSS Score
Published: February 16, 2023 at 05:39 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 05:38 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorArgo CD

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Severity
HIGH8.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.7%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. All Argo CD versions starting with 2.3.0-rc1 and prior to 2.3.17, 2.4.23 2.5.11, and 2.6.2 are vulnerable to an improper authorization bug which allows users who have the ability to update at least one cluster secret to update any cluster secret. The attacker could use this access to escalate privileges (potentially controlling Kubernetes resources) or to break Argo CD functionality (by preventing connections to external clusters). A patch for this vulnerability has been released in Argo CD versions 2.6.2, 2.5.11, 2.4.23, and 2.3.17. Two workarounds are available. Either modify the RBAC configuration to completely revoke all `clusters, update` access, or use the `destinations` and `clusterResourceWhitelist` fields to apply similar restrictions as the `namespaces` and `clusterResources` fields.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 2.3.17v < 2.4.23v < 2.5.11v < 2.6.22.3.0 ≤ v < 2.3.172.4.0 ≤ v < 2.4.232.5.0 ≤ v < 2.5.112.6.0 ≤ v < 2.6.2
Affected range stops below 2.3.17, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.4.23, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.5.11, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.6.2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-863

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