CVE-2022-29165
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedArgo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. A critical vulnerability has been discovered in Argo CD starting with version 1.4.0 and prior to versions 2.1.15, 2.2.9, and 2.3.4 which would allow unauthenticated users to impersonate as any Argo CD user or role, including the `admin` user, by sending a specifically crafted JSON Web Token (JWT) along with the request. In order for this vulnerability to be exploited, anonymous access to the Argo CD instance must have been enabled. In a default Argo CD installation, anonymous access is disabled. The vulnerability can be exploited to impersonate as any user or role, including the built-in `admin` account regardless of whether it is enabled or disabled. Also, the attacker does not need an account on the Argo CD instance in order to exploit this. If anonymous access to the instance is enabled, an attacker can escalate their privileges, effectively allowing them to gain the same privileges on the cluster as the Argo CD instance, which is cluster admin in a default installation. This will allow the attacker to create, manipulate and delete any resource on the cluster. They may also exfiltrate data by deploying malicious workloads with elevated privileges, thus bypassing any redaction of sensitive data otherwise enforced by the Argo CD API. A patch for this vulnerability has been released in Argo CD versions 2.3.4, 2.2.9, and 2.1.15. As a workaround, one may disable anonymous access, but upgrading to a patched version is preferable.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceArgo CD versions 1.4.0 through 2.1.14, 2.2.8, and 2.3.3 contain a JWT authentication bypass that allows unauthenticated users to impersonate any user (including admin) by sending a specially crafted JSON Web Token. This only works when anonymous access is enabled, which is not the default. The flaw enables privilege escalation to cluster-admin level access.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 1.4.0, < 2.1.15>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.9>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check the installed Argo CD versionRun 'argocd version' on the server or query the Argo CD deployment: 'kubectl get deployment argocd-server -n argocd -o jsonpath="{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}"'Affected if The version is 1.4.0 through 2.1.14, 2.2.0 through 2.2.8, or 2.3.0 through 2.3.3
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Verify whether anonymous access is enabledQuery the Argo CD configmap: 'kubectl get configmap argocd-cm -n argocd -o jsonpath="{.data.anonymous\.access\.enabled}"'Affected if The value is 'true' (the vulnerability only works when anonymous access is enabled)
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Confirm admin or other high-privilege users existList Argo CD accounts: 'kubectl get ArgoCDExtensions.argoproj.io -n argocd 2>/dev/null || argocd account list' or check users via the APIAffected if Any privileged accounts (including admin) exist in the Argo CD instance
A user is affected if they run a vulnerable Argo CD version AND have anonymous access enabled in the configmap, allowing unauthenticated JWT impersonation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped2.1.152.2.92.3.4
Upgrade Argo CD to version 2.3.4, 2.2.9, or 2.1.15 or later. Alternatively, disable anonymous access in the Argo CD configmap if upgrading is not immediately possible.
2.3.4 (or latest 2.x stable release - also fixed in 2.2.9 and 2.1.15)
- Identify current Argo CD version using `argocd version` or checking your deployment
- Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version (see upgrade_path)
- Upgrade Argo CD to version 2.3.4 (or latest stable 2.x release)
- If using a Kubernetes operator (like Argo CD Operator), update the operator's CRD to specify the new version
- Apply the upgrade and verify the Argo CD server starts successfully
- Confirm anonymous access is disabled by checking the `apiServer.anonymousAccess.enabled` setting in Argo CD config, or disable it if needed using: `argocd argocd server --anonymous-enabled=false`
- After upgrade, verify the vulnerability is patched by attempting to confirm JWT handling now properly validates tokens for anonymous requests
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-29165 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-29165 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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