CVE-2026-55775 is a low-severity security vulnerability in github.com/openbao/openbao (go), affecting versions < 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae. It is fixed in 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae.
Summary A user that is granted namespace management (/sys/namespaces) capabilities within a non-root namespace ("the victim namespace") can abuse special handling of the literal path "root" in namespace path canonicalization to manage the victim namespace itself. Details Several endpoints under /sys/namespaces/* accept a namespace path segment that is canonicalized and then appended to the path of the sys mount's containing namespace (set via path prefix or X-Vault-Namespace header) to determine the absolute path of the namespace to operate on. Given the special namespace path "root" canonicalizes to en empty path (""), when passed as /sys/namespaces/root, the resulting absolute namespace path remains equal to the sys mount's containing namespace. Given ACLs are evaluated before namespace path canonicalization, this allows users with capabilities on /sys/namespaces/root within any given namespace to operate on the namespace itself instead. Impact Users that were granted the required capabilities can abuse this vulnerability to: Look up Delete Lock Patch custom metadata against the namespace containing the system backend they can manage sys/namespaces/root in. The exact range of operations that can be performed depends on the specific capabilities granted on said path and any sub-paths such as /api-lock. Notably, the root namespace is immutable and cannot be modified, deleted or locked, and is thus unaffected. Also note that users can only abuse this vulnerability to operate on the direct parent or "containing" namespace relative to their capabilities, not arbitrary namespaces. Patch This will be fixed in OpenBao v2.5.5. PoC Start a development server: Create a namespace: This will be the namespace we gain unauthorized management of. Create a policy that allows management of namespaces, inside of the victim namespace. Then create a token with above policy attached: Operate on the victim's namespace using the token, for example by outright deleting it:
go
github.com/openbao/openbao (< 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae)github.com/openbao/openbao (>= 0.1.0, <= 2.5.4)github.com/openbao/openbao → 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae (go)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 instead of chasing every advisory.
Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether CVE-2026-55775 is reachable in your applications. Explore open-source security for your team.
See if CVE-2026-55775 is reachable in your applications. Get a demo
Upgrade github.com/openbao/openbao to 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae or later to resolve this vulnerability.
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
CVE-2026-55775 is a low-severity security vulnerability in github.com/openbao/openbao (go), affecting versions < 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae. It is fixed in 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae.
github.com/openbao/openbao (go) versions < 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae is affected.
Yes. CVE-2026-55775 is fixed in 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae. Upgrade to this version or later.
Whether CVE-2026-55775 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
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.
Upgrade github.com/openbao/openbao to 0.0.0-20260617103935-d3c1cc64b1ae or later.