CVE-2026-41184

In Calico, the install-cni init container logs the rendered CNI configuration to standard output. When the configuration template uses the SERVICEACCOUNT_TOKEN placeholder (Canal/Flannel-Calico deployments), the installer substitutes the live Kubernetes ServiceAccount bearer token before logging, exposing the token to any authenticated user with pods/log permission in the namespace with calico-node. The token holds patch privileges on pods/status, enabling annotation-based attacks against cluster workloads. The default kubeconfig-based authentication path is not affected. This is a direct regression of TTA-2018-001.

CVE-2026-41184 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (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 (3.31.6, 1.11.0-cni-plugin.0.20260417001138-cd73bc2cea0f); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2026-41184? CVE-2026-41184 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in github.com/projectcalico/calico (go), affecting versions >= 2.0.0, < 3.31.6. It is fixed in 3.31.6, 1.11.0-cni-plugin.0.20260417001138-cd73bc2cea0f.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-41184? CVE-2026-41184 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (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.
3. Which versions of github.com/projectcalico/calico are affected by CVE-2026-41184? github.com/projectcalico/calico (go) versions >= 2.0.0, < 3.31.6 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-41184? Yes. CVE-2026-41184 is fixed in 3.31.6, 1.11.0-cni-plugin.0.20260417001138-cd73bc2cea0f. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-41184 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-41184 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-2026-41184 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-2026-41184?
   • Upgrade github.com/projectcalico/calico to 3.31.6 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/projectcalico/calico to 1.11.0-cni-plugin.0.20260417001138-cd73bc2cea0f or later