Vulnerabilities in pkg:golang/go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2
PACKAGECVE-2026-61549 is a HIGH privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Woodpecker libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves privilege escalation via unrestricted serviceaccountname in the kubernetes backend. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.16.0.
pkg:golang/go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2
Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:golang/go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.
| Advisory ID | CVE / NVD | Severity | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHSA-qf34-295c-26v8 | CVE-2026-61549 | HIGH | Woodpecker: Privilege escalation via unrestricted serviceAccountName in the Kubernetes backend |
| GHSA-3wf2-2pq4-4rvc | CVE-2024-41122 | MODERATE | Woodpecker's custom environment variables allow to alter execution flow of plugins |
| GHSA-xw35-rrcp-g7xm | CVE-2024-41121 | HIGH | Woodpecker's custom workspace allow to overwrite plugin entrypoint executable |
CVE-2026-61549 at a Glance
How to Fix CVE-2026-61549
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Woodpecker 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 go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3 to 3.16.0
Upgrade github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker to Latest secure release
Upgrade go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2 to Latest secure release
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
inspect dependencies for go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-61549, inspect your project dependencies for Woodpecker:
inspect dependencies for go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Woodpecker in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.16.0), 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-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Woodpecker, 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-2026-61549 Affected Woodpecker Versions
3 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3
|
Go |
< 3.16.0
|
3.16.0
|
|
github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker
|
Go |
≥ 1.0.0
≤ 1.0.4
|
|
|
go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2
|
Go |
≤ 2.8.3
|
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-61549?
Which Woodpecker versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-61549?
Is go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3 affected?
Is github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker affected?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-61549?
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2026-61549?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-qf34-295c-26v8",
"modified" : "2026-07-14T20:29:32Z",
"published" : "2026-07-14T20:29:32Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-61549" ],
"summary" : "Woodpecker: Privilege escalation via unrestricted serviceAccountName in the Kubernetes backend",
"details" : "### Impact\n\nA privilege escalation vulnerability affects Woodpecker instances using the **Kubernetes backend**.\n\nThe pipeline option `backend_options.kubernetes.serviceAccountName` was passed directly to the pod spec without any admin gating.\n\n**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.\n\n### Patches\n\nhttps://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/pull/6792\n\n### Workarounds\n\nOperators who cannot upgrade immediately can mitigate by any of:\n\n- **Restrict Push access** on repositories connected to the Kubernetes-backed instance to\n trusted users only.\n- **Harden the pipeline namespace**: ensure no privileged ServiceAccount exists or is bound in\n the namespace where pipeline pods run; keep the `default` ServiceAccount minimally privileged.\n- **Disable ServiceAccount token automounting** for ServiceAccounts that should not be used by\n pipelines.\n- **Enforce an admission policy** (e.g. OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno, or a ValidatingAdmissionPolicy)\n that rejects pipeline pods setting an unexpected `serviceAccountName`.\n- **Use a dedicated, isolated namespace** per org/instance with no sensitive RBAC bindings.\n\n### Resources\n\n- Vulnerable option introduced in commit `609ba481b5e912f59aaae8ca7bc22b44523c5e37`\n- Affected versions: `v1.0.0` through `v3.15.0`\n- Source: `pipeline/backend/kubernetes/backend_options.go` (field `ServiceAccountName`),\n `pipeline/backend/kubernetes/pod.go` (assigned to pod spec with no gating)",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V4",
"score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "3.16.0"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.0.0"
}, {
"last_affected" : "1.0.4"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"last_affected" : "2.8.3"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/security/advisories/GHSA-qf34-295c-26v8"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/pull/6792"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269", "CWE-862" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2026-07-14T20:29:32Z",
"nvd_published_at" : null
}
}