CVE-2024-53862: Argo Workflows is an open source container-native workflow engine for orchestrating parallel jobs on Kubernetes. When using `--auth-mode=client`, Arch...

Description

Argo Workflows is an open source container-native workflow engine for orchestrating parallel jobs on Kubernetes. When using `--auth-mode=client`, Archived Workflows can be retrieved with a fake or spoofed token via the GET Workflow endpoint: `/api/v1/workflows/{namespace}/{name}` or when using `--auth-mode=sso`, all Archived Workflows can be retrieved with a valid token via the GET Workflow endpoint: `/api/v1/workflows/{namespace}/{name}`. No authentication is performed by the Server itself on `client` tokens. Authentication & authorization is instead delegated to the k8s API server. However, the Workflow Archive does not interact with k8s, and so any token that looks valid will be considered authenticated, even if it is not a k8s token or even if the token has no RBAC for Argo. To handle the lack of pass-through k8s authN/authZ, the Workflow Archive specifically does the equivalent of a `kubectl auth can-i` check for respective methods. In 3.5.7 and 3.5.8, the auth check was accidentally removed on the GET Workflow endpoint's fallback to archived workflows on these lines, allowing archived workflows to be retrieved with a fake token. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.6.2 and 3.5.13.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS 4.0

6.3/10

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

EPSS Probability

0.64%

45.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Argoproj	Argo Workflows	>= 3.5.7, < 3.5.13
Argoproj	Argo Workflows	>= 3.6.0, < 3.6.2

References

Timeline

Published: Dec 2, 2024
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-53862?

Argo Workflows is an open source container-native workflow engine for orchestrating parallel jobs on Kubernetes. When using `--auth-mode=client`, Archived Workflows can be retrieved with a fake or spoofed token via the GET Workflow endpoint: `/api/v1/workflows/{namespace}/{name}` or when using `--auth-mode=sso`, all Archived Workflows can be retrieved with a valid token via the GET Workflow endpoint: `/api/v1/workflows/{namespace}/{name}`. No authentication is performed by the Server itself on `client` tokens. Authentication & authorization is instead delegated to the k8s API server. However, the Workflow Archive does not interact with k8s, and so any token that looks valid will be considered authenticated, even if it is not a k8s token or even if the token has no RBAC for Argo. To handle the lack of pass-through k8s authN/authZ, the Workflow Archive specifically does the equivalent of a `kubectl auth can-i` check for respective methods. In 3.5.7 and 3.5.8, the auth check was accidentally removed on the GET Workflow endpoint's fallback to archived workflows on these lines, allowing archived workflows to be retrieved with a fake token. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.6.2 and 3.5.13.

How severe is CVE-2024-53862?

CVE-2024-53862 has a CVSS score of 6.3/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.64% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2024-53862?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.