GHSA-qf34-295c-26v8
Woodpecker: Privilege escalation via unrestricted serviceAccountName in the Kubernetes backend
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3 | < 3.16.0 | 3.16.0 |
| Go | github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker | >= 1.0.0, <= 1.0.4 | no fix listed |
| Go | go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2 | <= 2.8.3 | no fix listed |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Impact
A privilege escalation vulnerability affects Woodpecker instances using the **Kubernetes backend**.
The pipeline option `backend_options.kubernetes.serviceAccountName` was passed directly to the pod spec without any admin gating.
**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.
### Patches
https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker/pull/6792
### Workarounds
Operators who cannot upgrade immediately can mitigate by any of:
- **Restrict Push access** on repositories connected to the Kubernetes-backed instance to
trusted users only.
- **Harden the pipeline namespace**: ensure no privileged ServiceAccount exists or is bound in
the namespace where pipeline pods run; keep the `default` ServiceAccount minimally privileged.
- **Disable ServiceAccount token automounting** for ServiceAccounts that should not be used by
pipelines.
- **Enforce an admission policy** (e.g. OPA/Gatekeeper, Kyverno, or a ValidatingAdmissionPolicy)
that rejects pipeline pods setting an unexpected `serviceAccountName`.
- **Use a dedicated, isolated namespace** per org/instance with no sensitive RBAC bindings.
### Resources
- Vulnerable option introduced in commit `609ba481b5e912f59aaae8ca7bc22b44523c5e37`
- Affected versions: `v1.0.0` through `v3.15.0`
- Source: `pipeline/backend/kubernetes/backend_options.go` (field `ServiceAccountName`),
`pipeline/backend/kubernetes/pod.go` (assigned to pod spec with no gating)
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.