CVE-2026-33211

The Tekton Pipelines git resolver is vulnerable to path traversal via the pathInRepo parameter. A tenant with permission to create ResolutionRequests (e.g. by creating TaskRuns or PipelineRuns that use the git resolver) can read arbitrary files from the resolver pod's filesystem, including ServiceAccount tokens. The file contents are returned base64-encoded in resolutionrequest.status.data.

Details

The git resolver's getFileContent() function in pkg/resolution/resolver/git/repository.go constructs a file path by joining the repository clone directory with the user-supplied pathInRepo parameter:

fileContents, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(repo.directory, path))

The pathInRepo parameter is not validated for path traversal sequences. An attacker can supply values like ../../../../etc/passwd to escape the cloned repository directory and read arbitrary files from the resolver pod's filesystem.

The vulnerability was introduced in commit 318006c4e3a5 which switched the git resolver from the go-git library (using an in-memory filesystem that cannot be escaped) to shelling out to the git binary and reading files with os.ReadFile() from the real filesystem.

Workarounds

There is no workaround other than restricting which users can create TaskRuns, PipelineRuns, or ResolutionRequests that use the git resolver. Administrators can also reduce the impact by scoping the resolver pod's ServiceAccount RBAC permissions using a custom ClusterRole with more restrictive rules.

Affected Versions

All releases from v1.0.0 through v1.10.0, including all patch releases:

• v1.0.0, v1.1.0, v1.2.0
• v1.3.0, v1.3.1, v1.3.2
• v1.4.0, v1.5.0, v1.6.0, v1.7.0
• v1.9.0, v1.9.1, v1.10.0

Releases prior to v1.0.0 (e.g. v0.70.0 and earlier) are not affected because they used the go-git library's in-memory filesystem where path traversal cannot escape the git worktree.

Acknowledgments

This vulnerability was reported by Oleh Konko (@1seal), who provided a thorough vulnerability analysis, proof-of-concept, and review of the fix. Thank you!

References

• Fix: (link to merged PR/commit)
• Introduced in: 318006c4e3a5 ("fix: resolve Git Anonymous Resolver excessive memory usage")

Arbitrary file read, A namespace-scoped tenant who can create TaskRuns or PipelineRuns with git resolver parameters can read any file readable by the resolver pod process.

Credential exfiltration and privilege escalation, The resolver pod's ServiceAccount token is readable at a well-known path (/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token). In the default RBAC configuration, the tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount has get, list, and watch permissions on secrets cluster-wide. An attacker who exfiltrates this token gains the ability to read all Secrets across all namespaces, escalating from namespace-scoped access to cluster-wide secret access.

Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files. Typical impact: unauthorized file read or write outside the intended directory.

CVE-2026-33211 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (Critical). 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 (1.0.1, 1.3.3, 1.6.1, 1.9.2, 1.10.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Fixed in 1.0.x, 1.3.x, 1.6.x, 1.9.x, 1.10.x.

The fix validates pathInRepo to reject paths containing .. components at parameter validation time, and adds a containment check using filepath.EvalSymlinks() to prevent symlink-based escapes from attacker-controlled repositories.

1. What is CVE-2026-33211? CVE-2026-33211 is a critical-severity path traversal vulnerability in github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (go), affecting versions >= 1.0.0, < 1.0.1. It is fixed in 1.0.1, 1.3.3, 1.6.1, 1.9.2, 1.10.2. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-33211? CVE-2026-33211 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (Critical). 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.
3. Which versions of github.com/tektoncd/pipeline are affected by CVE-2026-33211? github.com/tektoncd/pipeline (go) versions >= 1.0.0, < 1.0.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-33211? Yes. CVE-2026-33211 is fixed in 1.0.1, 1.3.3, 1.6.1, 1.9.2, 1.10.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-33211 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-33211 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2026-33211 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2026-33211?
   • Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.0.1 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.3.3 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.6.1 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.9.2 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.10.2 or later