CVE-2026-15416
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 · uneditedA flaw was identified in Argo CD, the GitOps engine used by Red Hat OpenShift GitOps, that could allow an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the Argo CD repo-server to achieve remote code execution. Under certain conditions, the attacker may then manipulate cached data to deploy malicious Kubernetes resources to managed clusters, potentially resulting in complete cluster compromise.
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 · moderate confidenceAn unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability exists in the Argo CD repo-server component. Attackers with network access to the repo-server can achieve RCE and potentially manipulate cached data to deploy malicious Kubernetes resources, leading to full cluster compromise.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L
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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Identify if Argo CD is deployed in the environmentCheck for Argo CD pods running in the cluster: 'kubectl get pods -n argocd --all-namespaces' or look for Argo CD services: 'kubectl get svc -n argocd --all-namespaces'Affected if Argo CD is deployed in the cluster
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Determine the installed Argo CD versionRun 'kubectl get deployment -n argocd argocd-repo-server -o jsonpath={.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}' or check the Argo CD UI footer for version displayAffected if The installed version falls within the vulnerable range (any unpatched version of Argo CD with exposed repo-server)
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Identify if the repo-server component is network-accessibleCheck the repo-server service: 'kubectl get svc argocd-repo-server -n argocd -o wide' and review network policies or firewall rules controlling access to the repo-server port (typically 8081)Affected if The repo-server service is exposed externally or accessible from untrusted networks
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Verify if repo-server has unauthenticated network exposureReview service type (LoadBalancer/NodePort), ingress configurations, and any proxy or firewall rules allowing external access to port 8081 or the repo-server endpointAffected if The repo-server accepts connections from untrusted network sources without authentication enforcement
A user is affected if they run any unpatched version of Argo CD with the repo-server component exposed to untrusted network access, allowing unauthenticated attackers to achieve RCE.
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.
From vendor dataImmediately restrict network access to the Argo CD repo-server and update to the patched version of Argo CD. Review and tighten RBAC policies and audit existing deployments for indicators of compromise.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-15416 — 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-2026-15416 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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