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KestraApplication

CVE-2026-49869

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.45 / 1.3.21 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click 8 weeks old

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
Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21, AuthenticationFilter in Kestra OSS uses request.getPath().endsWith("/configs") to whitelist the public configuration endpoint from Basic Auth. Because the check is a suffix match rather than an exact path match, any API path whose last segment is configs bypasses authentication entirely. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this to create and execute arbitrary workflows without credentials. Because Kestra ships with script execution plugins (plugin-script-shell, plugin-script-python, etc.) enabled by default, this directly results in unauthenticated Remote Code Execution as root inside the Kestra worker container. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.0.45 and 1.3.21.

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 AuthenticationFilter in Kestra OSS uses a suffix match (`endsWith('/configs')`) instead of an exact path match to whitelist the public configuration endpoint from Basic Auth. This allows any API path ending with 'configs' to bypass authentication entirely, enabling unauthenticated attackers to create and execute arbitrary workflows. Combined with default-enabled script execution plugins (shell, python), this leads to unauthenticated RCE as root in the Kestra worker container.

MitigationUpgrade Kestra to version 1.0.45 or 1.3.21 or later to obtain the patched AuthenticationFilter that uses exact path matching instead of suffix matching.

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
KestraApplication
Affected:< 1.0.45>= 1.1.0, < 1.3.21

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check installed Kestra version
    Run `kestra --version` from command line or check the version displayed in the Kestra UI footer
    Affected if Version is less than 1.0.45, or greater than or equal to 1.1.0 but less than 1.3.21
  2. Locate AuthenticationFilter source code
    Find the AuthenticationFilter.java file in the Kestra source (typically under io/kestra/core/services/ or similar package path)
    Affected if The filter contains `endsWith("/configs")` instead of an exact path match like `equals("/configs")` or `equalsIgnoreCase("/configs")`
  3. Test unauthenticated access to configs endpoint
    Send an HTTP GET request to any API path ending with '/configs' without providing authentication headers (for example: curl -s http://localhost:8080/api/v1/configs)
    Affected if The request returns a 200 OK response with configuration data instead of 401 Unauthorized or 403 Forbidden
  4. Verify script execution plugins availability
    Check the Kestra plugins directory or configuration for enabled execution plugins (shell, python, or other script runners)
    Affected if Script execution plugins are installed and enabled in the environment

The environment is affected if Kestra version is in the vulnerable range AND the AuthenticationFilter uses suffix matching (endsWith) for path validation, allowing unauthenticated access to any path ending with '/configs'.

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 1.0.45 / 1.3.21 or later
Fixed in 1.0.451.3.21
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Kestra to version 1.0.45 or 1.3.21 or later to obtain the patched AuthenticationFilter that uses exact path matching instead of suffix matching.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.3.21 (or 1.0.45 for the 1.0.x branch)

  1. Identify your current Kestra version by checking the deployed Docker image tag or application version
  2. Upgrade to version 1.0.45 (for the 1.0.x branch) or version 1.3.21 (for the 1.1.x-1.3.x branch). If running 1.1.x or higher, upgrade to 1.3.21 or later for the latest fixes
  3. If using Docker, update your image tag from `kestra/kestra:<old-tag>` to `kestra/kestra:v1.3.21` (or the appropriate version for your branch)
  4. If using a binary distribution, download the new version from the official Kestra releases and replace the existing installation
  5. After upgrading, verify the AuthenticationFilter is updated by reviewing the source code or release notes
  6. Restart the Kestra service to apply the new version
  7. Test that authentication is properly enforced on non-config endpoints and that the /configs endpoint remains accessible
  8. If running in a multi-node setup, ensure all nodes are upgraded to the same version
Caveat Review Kestra release notes between your current version and the target version for any breaking changes, particularly around workflow execution, plugin configurations, or API changes

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

Fix this in Kestra Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2026-49869 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data