CVE-2026-40923: Tekton Pipelines VolumeMount Path Restriction Bypass Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rx35-6rhx-7858
CVSS 5.4
CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-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

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-40923
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rx35-6rhx-7858
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.4
CWE Classification CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Affected Product Tekton Pipelines
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

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).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (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.

github.com/tektoncd/pipeline fixed: 1.11.1
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.11.1
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline fixed: 1.9.3
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.9.3
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline fixed: 1.6.2
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.6.2
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline fixed: 1.3.4
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.3.4
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline fixed: 1.0.2
Upgrade github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.0.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

### Summary A validation bypass in the VolumeMount path restriction allows mounting volumes under restricted `/tekton/` internal paths by using `..` path traversal components. The restriction check uses `strings.HasPrefix` without `filepath.Clean`, so a path like `/tekton/home/../results` passes validation but resolves to `/tekton/results` at runtime. ### Details Tekton Pipelines restricts VolumeMount paths under `/tekton/` (except `/tekton/home`) to prevent users from interfering with internal execution state. The validation at `pkg/apis/pipeline/v1/container_validation.go` checks mount paths using `strings.HasPrefix` without normalizing the path first: ```go if strings.HasPrefix(vm.MountPath, "/tekton/") && !strings.HasPrefix(vm.MountPath, "/tekton/home") { // reject } ``` Because `/tekton/home` is an allowed prefix, a path like `/tekton/home/../results` passes both checks. At runtime, the container runtime resolves `..` and the actual mount point becomes `/tekton/results`. The same pattern exists in `pkg/apis/pipeline/v1beta1/task_validation.go`. ### Impact An authenticated user with Task or TaskRun creation permissions can mount volumes over internal Tekton paths, potentially: - Writing fake task results that downstream pipelines trust - Reading or modifying step scripts before execution - Interfering with entrypoint coordination state ### Patches _(to be filled: fixed in versions X.Y.Z)_ ### Workarounds - Use admission controllers (OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno) to validate that VolumeMount paths do not contain `..` components. - In multi-tenant setups, restrict who can create Task and TaskRun resources via RBAC. ### Affected Versions All versions through **v1.10.0** (both `v1` and `v1beta1` APIs). ### Acknowledgments This vulnerability was reported by @kodareef5.

CVE-2026-40923 Affected Tekton Pipelines Versions

5 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.11.11.9.31.6.21.3.41.0.2
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?
CVE-2026-40923 is a security vulnerability in Tekton Pipelines involving VolumeMount path restriction bypass via missing filepath.Clean in /tekton/ check under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal').
Which Tekton Pipelines versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.11.1, 1.9.3, 1.6.2, 1.3.4, 1.0.2 across affected packages: github.com/tektoncd/pipeline.
What version fixes CVE-2026-40923?
Upgrading to 1.11.1, 1.9.3, 1.6.2, 1.3.4, 1.0.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/tektoncd/pipeline affected?
Yes, github.com/tektoncd/pipeline is affected in releases prior to 1.11.1, 1.9.3, 1.6.2, 1.3.4, 1.0.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.11.1, 1.9.3, 1.6.2, 1.3.4, 1.0.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-40923?
CVE-2026-40923 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-40923?
CVE-2026-40923 is classified under CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (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.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2026-40923?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/tektoncd/pipeline'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "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"
  }
}