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Ingress NginxWeb server / proxy · Kubernetes

CVE-2026-3288

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.13.8 / 1.14.4 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx where the `nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target` Ingress annotation can be used to inject configuration into nginx. This can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the ingress-nginx controller, and disclosure of Secrets accessible to the controller. (Note that in the default installation, the controller can access all Secrets cluster-wide.)

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 confidence

The nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target annotation in the ingress-nginx controller allows configuration injection into the nginx process, enabling arbitrary code execution within the controller's context and disclosure of cluster secrets (which in default installations are accessible cluster-wide).

MitigationUpgrade ingress-nginx to the patched version and audit/remediate Ingress resources using the rewrite-target annotation to prevent configuration injection.

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
Ingress NginxWeb server / proxy
Affected:< 1.13.8>= 1.14.0, < 1.14.4

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine ingress-nginx controller version
    Run 'kubectl get deployment -n ingress-nginx ingress-nginx-controller -o jsonpath="{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}"' or check the ingress-nginx namespace for the controller pod and its image tag
    Affected if The version is less than 1.13.8, or greater than or equal to 1.14.0 but less than 1.14.4
  2. Identify Ingress resources using the rewrite-target annotation
    Run 'kubectl get ingress -A -o jsonpath="{range .items[?(@.metadata.annotations.nginx\.ingress\.kubernetes\.io/rewrite-target)]}{.metadata.namespace}/{.metadata.name}{end}"' to list namespaces and Ingress names with this annotation
    Affected if Any Ingress resource has the nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target annotation defined
  3. Review who can create or modify Ingress resources
    Run 'kubectl auth can-i create ingresses --as=<user>' for untrusted users, or inspect ClusterRoleBindings/RoleBindings that grant ingress create/update permissions to determine if untrusted principals have these rights
    Affected if Users or service accounts without full trust can create or modify Ingress objects in any namespace
  4. Check for admission controllers validating rewrite-target
    Inspect any deployed ValidatingWebhookConfiguration or OPA/Gatekeeper policies for rules that validate the rewrite-target annotation value before Ingress creation
    Affected if No admission control policy exists to validate or restrict the rewrite-target annotation value

You are affected if the ingress-nginx controller version falls in the vulnerable range (< 1.13.8 or >= 1.14.0 to < 1.14.4) AND untrusted users can create or modify Ingress resources that use the rewrite-target annotation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.13.8 / 1.14.4 or later
Fixed in 1.13.81.14.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade ingress-nginx to the patched version and audit/remediate Ingress resources using the rewrite-target annotation to prevent configuration injection.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to ingress-nginx controller version 1.14.4 or later (e.g., 1.14.4, 1.15.0, or latest stable release)

  1. Check current ingress-nginx controller version using: kubectl get pods -n <ingress-namespace> -o jsonpath='{.items[0].spec.containers[0].image}'
  2. If version is < 1.13.8 or >= 1.14.0 and < 1.14.4, plan for upgrade
  3. Upgrade ingress-nginx controller to version 1.14.4 or later (e.g., 1.14.4, 1.15.0, or latest stable)
  4. Apply upgrade via Helm: helm upgrade <release-name> ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx --namespace ingress-nginx --version <new-version>
  5. Or upgrade via kubectl with new manifest: kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/controller-v<new-version>/deploy/static/provider/cloud/deploy.yaml
  6. Verify the new pods are running and the controller restarted successfully
  7. Review ingress resources using the rewrite-target annotation to ensure legitimate usage patterns
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; review the ingress-nginx changelog for any configuration changes between your current and target version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ingress Nginx Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,580
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-3288 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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