CVE-2026-2270StatefulSet and ControllerRevision write permissions allow cross-namespace pod creation

Description

A confused deputy attack exists in the StatefulSet controller that allows a user with namespace-scoped write permissions on StatefulSet and ControllerRevision objects to create a cross-namespace pod. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability would have full control over the resulting pod’s metadata and specification, including namespace selection. Note that the cross-namespace pod will be immediately deleted by the garbage collector unless the attacker is able to construct a valid StatefulSet OwnerReference. This would require referencing the UID of an existing StatefulSet in the victim’s namespace.

Data: CVE.org, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS, Ubuntu. Published as the sources state it, in English.

Affected products and versions

References and patches

• https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/142097 issue-tracking
• https://groups.google.com/g/kubernetes-security-announce/c/wv0iV-Rcmj4 mailing-list
• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/23/35