CVE-2026-40923: Tekton Pipelines VolumeMount Path Restriction Bypass Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2026-40923 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.4) volumemount path restriction bypass vulnerability (CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')) affecting Tekton Pipelines libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves volumemount path restriction bypass via missing filepath.clean in /tekton/ check. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.11.1, 1.9.3, 1.6.2, 1.3.4, 1.0.2.
CVE-2026-40923 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 5.4
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).
How to Fix CVE-2026-40923
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Tekton Pipelines dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.11.1
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.9.3
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.6.2
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.3.4
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.0.2
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
inspect dependencies for github.com/tektoncd/pipeline
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-40923, inspect your project dependencies for Tekton Pipelines:
inspect dependencies for github.com/tektoncd/pipeline
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Tekton Pipelines in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.11.1), your application is affected.
Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal'), where the product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. In Tekton Pipelines, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.
Source Advisory Statement
CVE-2026-40923 Affected Tekton Pipelines Versions
5 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline
|
Go |
≥ 1.10.0
< 1.11.1
|
1.11.1
|
|
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline
|
Go |
≥ 1.7.0
< 1.9.3
|
1.9.3
|
|
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline
|
Go |
≥ 1.4.0
< 1.6.2
|
1.6.2
|
|
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline
|
Go |
≥ 1.2.0
< 1.3.4
|
1.3.4
|
|
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline
|
Go |
≥ 1.0.0
< 1.0.2
|
1.0.2
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-40923?
Which Tekton Pipelines versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-40923?
Is github.com/tektoncd/pipeline affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-40923?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-40923?
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2026-40923?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-rx35-6rhx-7858",
"modified" : "2026-05-22T15:40:40Z",
"published" : "2026-04-21T20:26:41Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-40923" ],
"summary" : "Tekton Pipelines: VolumeMount path restriction bypass via missing filepath.Clean in /tekton/ check",
"details" : "### Summary\n\nA validation bypass in the VolumeMount path restriction allows mounting\nvolumes under restricted `/tekton/` internal paths by using `..` path\ntraversal components. The restriction check uses `strings.HasPrefix`\nwithout `filepath.Clean`, so a path like `/tekton/home/../results`\npasses validation but resolves to `/tekton/results` at runtime.\n\n### Details\n\nTekton Pipelines restricts VolumeMount paths under `/tekton/` (except\n`/tekton/home`) to prevent users from interfering with internal\nexecution state. The validation at\n`pkg/apis/pipeline/v1/container_validation.go` checks mount paths using\n`strings.HasPrefix` without normalizing the path first:\n\n```go\nif strings.HasPrefix(vm.MountPath, \"/tekton/\") &&\n !strings.HasPrefix(vm.MountPath, \"/tekton/home\") {\n // reject\n}\n```\n\nBecause `/tekton/home` is an allowed prefix, a path like\n`/tekton/home/../results` passes both checks. At runtime, the container\nruntime resolves `..` and the actual mount point becomes\n`/tekton/results`.\n\nThe same pattern exists in `pkg/apis/pipeline/v1beta1/task_validation.go`.\n\n### Impact\n\nAn authenticated user with Task or TaskRun creation permissions can\nmount volumes over internal Tekton paths, potentially:\n\n- Writing fake task results that downstream pipelines trust\n- Reading or modifying step scripts before execution\n- Interfering with entrypoint coordination state\n\n### Patches\n\n_(to be filled: fixed in versions X.Y.Z)_\n\n### Workarounds\n\n- Use admission controllers (OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno) to validate that\n VolumeMount paths do not contain `..` components.\n- In multi-tenant setups, restrict who can create Task and TaskRun\n resources via RBAC.\n\n### Affected Versions\n\nAll versions through **v1.10.0** (both `v1` and `v1beta1` APIs).\n\n### Acknowledgments\n\nThis vulnerability was reported by @kodareef5.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/tektoncd/pipeline"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.10.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.11.1"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/tektoncd/pipeline"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.7.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.9.3"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/tektoncd/pipeline"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.4.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.6.2"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/tektoncd/pipeline"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.2.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.3.4"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/tektoncd/pipeline"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.0.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.0.2"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/tektoncd/pipeline/security/advisories/GHSA-rx35-6rhx-7858"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40923"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/tektoncd/pipeline"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/tektoncd/pipeline/releases/tag/v1.11.1"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2026-04-21T20:26:41Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2026-04-21T21:16:45Z"
}
}