CVE-2026-66786
CriticalCVSS 9.1Summary
In Submariner's cert-auth mode, connection configuration is built from unvalidated free-form strings from the CRD. A malicious cluster can publish a CableName with newlines and ipsec.conf directives, allowing injection of arbitrary configuration or command execution via leftupdown hooks, leading to remote code execution as root on the gateway node.
Risk Assessment
An attacker can take over the gateway node, potentially leading to full cluster compromise and data breaches.
Recommendation
Update Submariner to a patched version and restrict trust to external clusters.
Other vulnerabilities in Submariner
See all- CVE-2026-66785Low
A vulnerability in Submariner allows a malicious cluster (spoke) to redirect network traffic from other connected clusters by publishing a specially crafted network endpoint. The system fails to properly validate network subnets, enabling the malicious cluster to declare arbitrary network ranges.
- CVE-2026-66781Medium
A flaw was found in the Submariner operator. The Submariner Custom Resource (CR), used for configuring network connectivity, stores the IPsec pre-shared key (PSK) in an unencrypted format. This key, which is critical for securing communication between Kubernetes clusters, can be accessed by unauthorized parties. Such access enables an attacker to passively decrypt network traffic flowing between any two clusters in the mesh, resulting in sensitive information disclosure.
- CVE-2024-5042Medium
A flaw in the Submariner project involves unnecessary RBAC permissions. A privileged attacker can run a malicious container on a node, steal service account tokens, and compromise other nodes or the entire cluster.
Original NVD description (English source)
A flaw was found in submariner. In cert-auth mode, the connection configuration is built using free-form strings from the Custom Resource Definition (CRD) without proper validation. A malicious cluster can exploit this by publishing a CableName that includes newlines and ipsec.conf directives. This allows an attacker to inject arbitrary configuration parameters or execute commands through leftupdown hooks, leading to remote code execution as root on the gateway node.