Summary
Tekton Pipelines-as-Code: Unscoped GitHub App installation token allows unauthorized access to private repositories via remote task resolution
Workarounds
Limit the GitHub App installation to only the repositories that require Pipelines-as-Code. Avoid org-wide installations or mixed-trust installations where repositories with different access requirements share the same GitHub App. This restricts the blast radius of the unscoped token to only the repositories that are explicitly selected during App installation.
Credits
Reported and fixed by the Pipelines-as-Code maintainers.
Impact
When Pipelines-as-Code is configured with a GitHub App installed across multiple repositories, the installation token issued during webhook processing is not scoped to the triggering repository by default. The token retains access to all repositories in the GitHub App installation.
This allows a user with push access to any repository in the installation to craft a PipelineRun with a remote task annotation pointing at a private repository in the same installation:
pipelinesascode.tekton.dev/task: "https://github.com/org/private-repo/blob/main/.tekton/secret-task.yaml"
Pipelines-as-Code resolves and inlines the remote task using the unscoped token, exposing the contents of the private repository's Tekton definitions. This is a read-only confidentiality breach, no write access is exposed.
The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access. Typical impact: privilege escalation beyond the intended level.
CVE-2026-54168 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 (0.37.8, 0.39.6, 0.42.1, 0.48.0); 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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The fix extracts the repository ID from the webhook payload during initial parsing so that it is available for later use. It then adds a fallback in the client setup path so that when no explicit scoping configuration is present and ScopeTokenToListOfRepos returns empty, the token is re-issued scoped to the triggering repository's ID rather than retaining access to the entire installation. The initial token remains unscoped so that the extra-repos lookup can still discover and resolve additional repositories when configured.
The fix is available in v0.48.0. Supported backport releases will be added here after release tags are published.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-54168? CVE-2026-54168 is a medium-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in github.com/openshift-pipelines/pipelines-as-code (go), affecting versions < 0.37.8. It is fixed in 0.37.8, 0.39.6, 0.42.1, 0.48.0. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
- How severe is CVE-2026-54168? CVE-2026-54168 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.
- Which versions of github.com/openshift-pipelines/pipelines-as-code are affected by CVE-2026-54168? github.com/openshift-pipelines/pipelines-as-code (go) versions < 0.37.8 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-54168? Yes. CVE-2026-54168 is fixed in 0.37.8, 0.39.6, 0.42.1, 0.48.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-54168 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-54168 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-2026-54168 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-2026-54168?
- Upgrade
github.com/openshift-pipelines/pipelines-as-codeto 0.37.8 or later - Upgrade
github.com/openshift-pipelines/pipelines-as-codeto 0.39.6 or later - Upgrade
github.com/openshift-pipelines/pipelines-as-codeto 0.42.1 or later - Upgrade
github.com/openshift-pipelines/pipelines-as-codeto 0.48.0 or later
- Upgrade