Summary
Workarounds
The only way to completely resolve the issue is to upgrade.
Mitigations
To mitigate the issue, make sure that your repo credentials have only least necessary privileges. For example, the credentials should not have push access, and they should not have access to more resources than what Argo CD actually needs (for example, a whole GitHub org when only one repo is needed).
To further mitigate the impact of a leaked write-capable repo credential, you could enable commit signature verification. Even if someone could push a malicious commit, the commit would not by synced.
You should also enforce least privileges in Argo CD RBAC. Make sure users only have repositories, update, applications, update, or applications, create access if they absolutely need it.
References
- The problem was initially reported in a GitHub issue
- Argo CD RBAC configuration documentation
For more information
- Open an issue in the Argo CD issue tracker or discussions
- Join us on Slack in channel #argo-cd
Impact
All versions of Argo CD starting with v2.6.0-rc1 have an output sanitization bug which leaks repository access credentials in error messages. These error messages are visible to the user, and they are logged. The error message is visible when a user attempts to create or update an Application via the Argo CD API (and therefor the UI or CLI). The user must have applications, create or applications, update RBAC access to reach the code which may produce the error.
The user is not guaranteed to be able to trigger the error message. They may attempt to spam the API with requests to trigger a rate limit error from the upstream repository.
If the user has repositories, update access, they may edit an existing repository to introduce a URL typo or otherwise force an error message. But if they have that level of access, they are probably intended to have access to the credentials anyway.
CVE-2023-25163 has a CVSS score of 6.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.6.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
A patch for this vulnerability has been released in the following Argo CD version:
- v2.6.1
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-25163? CVE-2023-25163 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (go), affecting versions >= 2.6.0-rc1, < 2.6.1. It is fixed in 2.6.1.
- How severe is CVE-2023-25163? CVE-2023-25163 has a CVSS score of 6.3 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 are affected by CVE-2023-25163? github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (go) versions >= 2.6.0-rc1, < 2.6.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-25163? Yes. CVE-2023-25163 is fixed in 2.6.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-25163 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-25163 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-25163 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-25163? Upgrade
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2to 2.6.1 or later.