CVE-2022-24768
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-24768 is an improper access control vulnerability in Argo CD that allows authorized users with specific permissions to escalate privileges to admin-level. This affects all unpatched versions starting from 1.0.0, with limited impact in earlier versions. Attackers need push access to application source repositories or sync+override access to applications to exploit this vulnerability.
💻 Affected Systems
- Argo CD
📦 What is this software?
Argo Cd by Argoproj
Argo Cd by Argoproj
Argo Cd by Argoproj
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Malicious user gains full admin privileges, allowing complete control over Kubernetes clusters managed by Argo CD, including deploying malicious workloads, accessing sensitive data, and disrupting operations.
Likely Case
Privileged user with existing access escalates to admin level, enabling unauthorized resource manipulation and potential lateral movement within the Kubernetes environment.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper RBAC controls, restricting users to intended permissions and preventing privilege escalation chains.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authorized access with specific permissions; detailed technical analysis is available in the security advisory.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.3.2, 2.2.8, and 2.1.14
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-2f5v-8r3f-8pww
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Identify current Argo CD version. 2. Upgrade to patched version (2.3.2, 2.2.8, or 2.1.14 depending on your branch). 3. Restart Argo CD components. 4. Verify upgrade completed successfully.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
RBAC Restriction
allLimit user permissions to prevent exploitation vectors
# Review and modify Argo CD RBAC configurations to restrict: push access to application source repositories, sync+override access to applications, update access to applications in projects
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict RBAC controls: Limit who has push access to application source repositories or sync+override access to applications
- Restrict repository availability: Limit which repositories are available in projects where users have update access to applications
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Argo CD version; if running version 1.0.0 or later and not patched (2.1.14, 2.2.8, or 2.3.2), system is vulnerableCheck Version:
argocd version --client && argocd version --serverVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Argo CD version is 2.1.14, 2.2.8, or 2.3.2 and test that users with limited permissions cannot escalate to admin📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized privilege escalation attempts
- Unexpected admin-level operations from non-admin users
- Suspicious application sync or override activities
Network Indicators:
- Unusual API calls to admin endpoints from non-admin users
- Increased authentication/authorization failures
SIEM Query:
source="argo-cd" AND (event="permission_escalation" OR user.role_changed="admin" OR action="override" OR resource_access="unauthorized")🔗 References
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/commit/af03b291d4b7e9d3ce9a6580ae9c8141af0e05cf
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v2.1.14
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v2.2.8
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v2.3.2
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-2f5v-8r3f-8pww
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/commit/af03b291d4b7e9d3ce9a6580ae9c8141af0e05cf
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v2.1.14
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v2.2.8
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v2.3.2
- https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-2f5v-8r3f-8pww
