Symlink following allows leaking out-of-bound manifests and JSON files from Argo CD repo-server

CISA KEV is observed exploitation evidence. FIRST EPSS is a dated prediction of exploitation in the next 30 days. Missing scores are unknown. This collector requests predictions only for explicit CVE aliases in the public NuGet archive; Microsoft release views retain their existing prediction scope.

No collected risk observation for these identifiers. This does not establish absence of exploitation or a zero probability.

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. Argo CD starting with version 0.7.0 and prior to versions 2.1.15m 2.2.9, and 2.3.4 is vulnerable to a symlink following bug allowing a malicious user with repository write access to leak sensitive files from Argo CD's repo-server. A malicious Argo CD user with write access for a repository which is (or may be) used in a directory-type Application may commit a symlink which points to an out-of-bounds file. Sensitive files which could be leaked include manifest files from other Applications' source repositories (potentially decrypted files, if you are using a decryption plugin) or any JSON-formatted secrets which have been mounted as files on the repo-server. A patch for this vulnerability has been released in Argo CD versions 2.3.4, 2.2.9, and 2.1.15. Users of versions 2.3.0 or above who do not have any Jsonnet/directory-type Applications may disable the Jsonnet/directory config management tool as a workaround.

Source published

20 May 2022 13:55:11 UTC

Source modified

23 Apr 2025 18:25:13 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

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CVSS 3.1 · 4.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. Argo CD starting with version 0.7.0 and prior to versions 2.1.15m 2.2.9, and 2.3.4 is vulnerable to a symlink following bug allowing a malicious user with repository write access to leak sensitive files from Argo CD's repo-server. A malicious Argo CD user with write access for a repository which is (or may be) used in a directory-type Application may commit a symlink which points to an out-of-bounds file. Sensitive files which could be leaked include manifest files from other Applications' source repositories (potentially decrypted files, if you are using a decryption plugin) or any JSON-formatted secrets which have been mounted as files on the repo-server. A patch for this vulnerability has been released in Argo CD versions 2.3.4, 2.2.9, and 2.1.15. Users of versions 2.3.0 or above who do not have any Jsonnet/directory-type Applications may disable the Jsonnet/directory config management tool as a workaround.

Source published

May 20, 2022, 1:55:11 PM (timezone not stated)

Source modified

Apr 23, 2025, 6:25:13 PM (timezone not stated)

Observed here

7 Nov 2026 22:03:09 UTC

Source terms

ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: euvd · ENISA EUVD · source terms and attribution apply. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

EUVD CVSS 3.1 · 4.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. Argo CD starting with version 0.7.0 and prior to versions 2.1.15m 2.2.9, and 2.3.4 is vulnerable to a symlink following bug allowing a malicious user with repository write access to leak sensitive files from Argo CD's repo-server. A malicious Argo CD user with write access for a repository which is (or may be) used in a directory-type Application may commit a symlink which points to an out-of-bounds file. Sensitive files which could be leaked include manifest files from other Applications' source repositories (potentially decrypted files, if you are using a decryption plugin) or any JSON-formatted secrets which have been mounted as files on the repo-server. A patch for this vulnerability has been released in Argo CD versions 2.3.4, 2.2.9, and 2.1.15. Users of versions 2.3.0 or above who do not have any Jsonnet/directory-type Applications may disable the Jsonnet/directory config management tool as a workaround.

Source published

20 May 2022 14:15:09 UTC

Source modified

17 Jun 2026 04:32:46 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 20:17:12 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: nvd · NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Secondary · 4.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

CVSS 3.1 · [email protected] · Primary · 4.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

CVSS 2.0 · [email protected] · Primary · 4.0 AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N

### Impact All unpatched versions of Argo CD starting with v0.7.0 are vulnerable to a symlink following bug allowing a malicious user with repository write access to leak sensitive files from Argo CD's repo-server. A malicious Argo CD user with write access for a repository which is (or may be) used in a directory-type Application may commit a symlink which points to an out-of-bounds file. * If the target file is a valid JSON or YAML manifest file, and the resource is allowed in the Application, the attacker can read the contents of that manifest file. (In versions <2.3.2, <2.2.8, and <2.1.14, the attacker may read the files contents even if the resource is _not_ allowed in the Application). * If the target file is valid JSON but is _not_ a manifest file, the attacker may read the contents of the file. * If the target file is not valid JSON or YAML, the attacker may read partial file contents (usually just the first character of the file). Sensitive files which could be leaked include manifest files from other Applications' source repositories (potentially decrypted files, if you are using a decryption plugin) or any JSON-formatted secrets which have been mounted as files on the repo-server. ### Patches A patch for this vulnerability has been released in the following Argo CD versions: * v2.3.4 * v2.2.9 * v2.1.15 ### Workarounds * If you are using >=v2.3.0 and do not have any Jsonnet/directory-type Applications, [disable the Jsonnet/directory config management tool](https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/user-guide/tool_detection/#disable-built-in-tools). The config key is called `jsonnet.enable` since the same build tool is used for both Jsonnet and plain-manifest ("directory") sources. #### Mitigations * Avoid mounting JSON-formatted secrets as files on the repo-server. * Upgrade to >=2.3.0 to significantly reduce the risk of leaking out-of-bounds manifest files. Starting with 2.3.0, repository paths are randomized, and read permissions are restricted when manifests are not being actively being generated. This makes it very difficult to craft and use a malicious symlink. * Upgrade to >=2.3.3, >=2.2.8, or >= 2.1.14 to significantly reduce the risk of leaking the contents of (but not the existence of) out-of-bounds manifest files. These versions prevent attackers from loading manifests which are not permitted in the Project which governs the Application. #### Best practices which can mitigate risk * Limit who has push access to manifest repositories. * Limit who is allowed to configure new source repositories. * Limit resource kinds and destinations allowed for Projects, and restrict user access to only the necessary Projects. ### Credits This vulnerability was originally discovered as part of the Trail of Bits audit, published March 12, 2021. The behavior was left unchanged at the time. The vulnerability was independently re-discovered by @crenshaw-dev, who contributed the patch. A security audit by Ada Logics independently followed up on the Trail of Bits report around the same time. ### References * List of [types of Applications](https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/user-guide/application_sources/), including directory-type * [RBAC documentation](https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/operator-manual/rbac/), showing how to limit repository permissions * [Project documentation](https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/user-guide/projects/), showing how to limit allowable resource kinds and destinations ### For more information Open an issue in [the Argo CD issue tracker](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/issues) or [discussions](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/discussions) Join us on [Slack](https://argoproj.github.io/community/join-slack) in channel #argo-cd

Source published

23 May 2022 21:13:57 UTC

Source modified

21 Oct 2026 03:11:56 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V3 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Publisher rating · MODERATE

Symlink following allows leaking out-of-bound manifests and JSON files from Argo CD repo-server in github.com/argoproj/argo-cd

Source published

21 Aug 2024 15:11:31 UTC

Source modified

3 Mar 2026 04:50:23 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

OSV · upstream source license applies

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · OSV · upstream source license applies. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.