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Nginx Ingress ControllerWeb server / proxy · Kubernetes

CVE-2026-4342

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.13.9 / 1.14.5 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 a combination of Ingress annotations 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 · moderate confidence

This is a configuration injection vulnerability in ingress-nginx where specific combinations of Ingress annotations allow attackers to inject arbitrary nginx configuration directives. This enables code execution within the controller's context and exfiltration of any Secrets accessible to the controller, which in default installations includes all cluster-wide Secrets.

MitigationRestrict RBAC permissions for Ingress resource creation/modification to trusted users only, audit existing Ingress resources for suspicious or unexpected annotation combinations, and apply vendor patches when available.

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
Nginx Ingress ControllerWeb server / proxy
Affected:< 1.13.9>= 1.14.0, < 1.14.5= 1.15.0

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. Identify 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 controller's pod image tag
    Affected if The installed version is less than 1.13.9, between 1.14.0-1.14.4 inclusive, or exactly 1.15.0
  2. Check controller RBAC permissions to Secrets
    Run 'kubectl auth can-i get secrets --as=system:serviceaccount:ingress-nginx:ingress-nginx' to test if the controller can read cluster-wide secrets
    Affected if The controller has broad access to read Secrets across namespaces (default installation grants this)
  3. Review Ingress resources for suspicious annotations
    Examine Ingress objects in namespaces, particularly looking for annotations that set 'nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/configuration-snippet' or similar configuration injection points
    Affected if Ingress resources contain custom nginx snippet annotations that could be exploited for configuration injection

You are affected if your ingress-nginx controller version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND the controller has broad Secrets access AND your Ingress resources use or could use configuration-snippet annotations.

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 1.13.9 / 1.14.5 or later
Fixed in 1.13.91.14.5
Interim mitigation

Restrict RBAC permissions for Ingress resource creation/modification to trusted users only, audit existing Ingress resources for suspicious or unexpected annotation combinations, and apply vendor patches when available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to ingress-nginx controller version 1.13.9, 1.14.5, or the latest stable release (e.g., 1.16.0 or newer)

  1. 1. Identify the current version of your ingress-nginx controller by running: kubectl get pods -n <ingress-namespace> -o jsonpath='{.items[0].spec.containers[0].image}'
  2. 2. Check if your current version is affected: < 1.13.9, >= 1.14.0 and < 1.14.5, or = 1.15.0
  3. 3. If affected, plan the upgrade to a fixed version (1.13.9, 1.14.5, or later)
  4. 4. Back up your current Ingress resources and controller configuration
  5. 5. Upgrade the ingress-nginx controller image in your deployment (e.g., via Helm upgrade or manifest apply): helm upgrade <release-name> ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx --namespace ingress-nginx --set controller.image.tag=<fixed-version>
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the controller pod is running and the version matches the fixed release
  7. 7. Test your Ingress resources to ensure normal operation
Caveat Minor or patch upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; however, review the ingress-nginx release notes for any configuration or behavior changes between your current and target version

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

Fix this in Nginx Ingress Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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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-2026-4342 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data