CVE-2026-22822 CRITICAL

CVE-2026-22822: External Secrets Operator insecurely retrieves secrets through the getSecretKey templating function

Vendor External-Secrets
Product external-secrets
Weakness CWE-863 · Incorrect authorization
Published January 21, 2026
Last update June 30, 2026

CVSS base score

9.3/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required Low
User interaction None
Confidentiality
Integrity

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

What the vulnerability does

01Description

External Secrets Operator reads information from a third-party service and automatically injects the values as Kubernetes Secrets. Starting in version 0.20.2 and prior to version 1.2.0, the `getSecretKey` template function, while introduced for senhasegura Devops Secrets Management (DSM) provider, has the ability to fetch secrets cross-namespaces with the roleBinding of the external-secrets controller, bypassing our security mechanisms. This function was completely removed in version 1.2.0, as everything done with that templating function can be done in a different way while respecting External Secrets Operator's safeguards As a workaround, use a policy engine such as Kubernetes, Kyverno, Kubewarden, or OPA to prevent the usage of `getSecretKey` in any ExternalSecret resource.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

January 21, 2026 CVE published
June 30, 2026 Record updated