Summary
Kubeflow Pipelines: Run-log endpoint permits unauthorized access to pod logs
The Kubeflow Pipelines API server's GET /apis/v1alpha1/runs/{run_id}/nodes/{node_id}/log handler retrieves logs without authorizing the caller against the selected run. A caller who can reach the backend and knows a victim run ID and a suitable pod or node identifier can read live or archived logs using the API server's permissions.
For live logs, the vulnerable handler also accepts the supplied node ID as a pod name in the run's namespace without verifying that the pod belongs to the run. Depending on the API server's pod-log permissions, a known run ID can therefore permit reading the main container logs of an unrelated pod in that namespace. Logs may contain sensitive workload data or credentials.
The affected handler does not authenticate the request itself. An external authentication gate or network policy can restrict reachability; public ingress exposure and unauthenticated enumeration of run IDs are not assumed.
Credit
bugbunny.ai discovered and reported the issue. Nayyar (@naruto-lgtm) authored the fix in #13684.
@patchmyday, @thesecguy45, @VitoCrl, @Grg0rry, @arpitjain099, and @BrianWillows made later submissions concerning the run-log authorization gap. MUTEDCYBERSECURITY S.L. separately reported a synthetic two-tenant reproduction, including the unrelated-pod log path.
Impact
The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation. Typical impact: unauthorized access to restricted functionality or data.
CVE-2026-118759 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (0.0.0-20260904182349-be4723e33727); 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.
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Upgrade the API server to Kubeflow Pipelines 2.18.0. Versions through 2.17.3 are affected; the first affected release has not been established.
PR #13684 authorizes the caller with the readLog verb before retrieving live or archived logs. For live logs, it also verifies that the pod's pipeline/runid label matches the requested run. Custom Kubernetes roles must grant readLog on runs in the pipelines.kubeflow.org API group; the bundled viewer and editor roles include it. Shared read access alone does not grant log access.
Until upgrading, restrict access to the backend log endpoint. Focused regression tests cover authorization denial, HTTP identity propagation, pod/run mismatch, archive retrieval, and cancellation; no new deployed-cluster end-to-end test was performed for this assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-118759? CVE-2026-118759 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in github.com/kubeflow/pipelines (go), affecting versions < 0.0.0-20260904182349-be4723e33727. It is fixed in 0.0.0-20260904182349-be4723e33727. The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation.
- How severe is CVE-2026-118759? CVE-2026-118759 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). 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/kubeflow/pipelines are affected by CVE-2026-118759? github.com/kubeflow/pipelines (go) versions < 0.0.0-20260904182349-be4723e33727 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-118759? Yes. CVE-2026-118759 is fixed in 0.0.0-20260904182349-be4723e33727. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-118759 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-118759 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-2026-118759 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-2026-118759? Upgrade
github.com/kubeflow/pipelinesto 0.0.0-20260904182349-be4723e33727 or later.