CVE-2026-22822CWE-863

External Secrets Operator insecurely retrieves secrets through the getSecretKey templating function

Critical · published January 21, 2026

CVSS v4.0
9.3
EPSS
0%
Percentile
8.4
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

External Secrets Operator reads information from a third-party service and automatically injects the values as Kubernetes Secrets. Starting in version 0.20.2 and prior to version 1.2.0, the `getSecretKey` template function, while introduced for senhasegura Devops Secrets Management (DSM) provider, has the ability to fetch secrets cross-namespaces with the roleBinding of the external-secrets controller, bypassing our security mechanisms. This function was completely removed in version 1.2.0, as everything done with that templating function can be done in a different way while respecting External Secrets Operator's safeguards As a workaround, use a policy engine such as Kubernetes, Kyverno, Kubewarden, or OPA to prevent the usage of `getSecretKey` in any ExternalSecret resource.

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v4.0
9.3 · CRITICAL
Vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
EPSS
0.00192 · 8.4th percentile
Weakness
CWE-863 · Incorrect Authorization
Published
2026-01-21T21:22Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 21 JAN 21:22Z
    External Secrets Operator insecurely retrieves secrets through the getSecretKey templating function
    cvelistv5