Summary
Woodpecker: Privilege escalation via unrestricted serviceAccountName in the Kubernetes backend
Workarounds
Operators who cannot upgrade immediately can mitigate by any of:
- Restrict Push access on repositories connected to the Kubernetes-backed instance to
trusted users only. - Harden the pipeline namespace: ensure no privileged ServiceAccount exists or is bound in
the namespace where pipeline pods run; keep thedefaultServiceAccount minimally privileged. - Disable ServiceAccount token automounting for ServiceAccounts that should not be used by
pipelines. - Enforce an admission policy (e.g. OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno, or a ValidatingAdmissionPolicy)
that rejects pipeline pods setting an unexpectedserviceAccountName. - Use a dedicated, isolated namespace per org/instance with no sensitive RBAC bindings.
Resources
- Vulnerable option introduced in commit
609ba481b5e912f59aaae8ca7bc22b44523c5e37 - Affected versions:
v1.0.0throughv3.15.0 - Source:
pipeline/backend/kubernetes/backend_options.go(fieldServiceAccountName),pipeline/backend/kubernetes/pod.go(assigned to pod spec with no gating)
Impact
A privilege escalation vulnerability affects Woodpecker instances using the Kubernetes backend.
The pipeline option backend_options.kubernetes.serviceAccountName was passed directly to the pod spec without any admin gating.
Who is impacted: any operator running the Kubernetes backend. Any user with Push permission on a connected repository can run pipeline pods under an arbitrary ServiceAccount in the pipeline namespace, gaining that account's RBAC permissions. If a privileged ServiceAccount is reachable in that namespace, this can lead to secret exfiltration (database credentials, API keys, TLS certs) and full cluster takeover.
The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access. Typical impact: privilege escalation beyond the intended level.
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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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-61549? CVE-2026-61549 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3 (go), affecting versions < 3.16.0. It is fixed in 3.16.0. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
- Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-61549?
go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3(go) (versions < 3.16.0)github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker(go) (versions >= 1.0.0, <= 1.0.4)go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2(go) (versions <= 2.8.3)
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-61549? Yes. CVE-2026-61549 is fixed in 3.16.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-61549 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-61549 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-2026-61549 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-2026-61549? Upgrade
go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3to 3.16.0 or later.