CVE-2022-1025 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-284 vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-cd. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/argoproj/argo-cd — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper access control allows admin privilege escalation in Argo CD
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-1025 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,333 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cdReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
Impacts for versions starting with v1.0.0
All unpatched versions of Argo CD starting with v1.0.0 are vulnerable to an improper access control bug, allowing a malicious user to potentially escalate their privileges to admin-level.
To perform the following exploits, an authorized Argo CD user must have push access to an Application's source git or Helm repository or sync and override access to an Application. Once a user has that access, different exploitation levels are possible depending on their other RBAC privileges:
- If that user has
updateaccess to the Application, they can modify any resource on the Application's destination cluster. If the destination cluster is or can be made to be the same as the cluster hosting Argo CD, the user can escalate their Argo CD permissions to admin-level. - If the user has
deleteaccess to the Application, they can delete any resource on the Application's destination cluster. (This exploit is possible starting with v0.8.0.) - If the user has
getaccess to the Application, they can view any resource on the Application's destination cluster (except for the contents of Secrets) and list actions available for that resource. - If the user has
getaccess to the Application, they can view the logs of any Pods on the Application's destination cluster. - If the user has
action/{some action or *}access on the Application, they can run an action for any resource (which supports the allowed action(s)) on the Application's destination cluster. (Some actions are available in Argo CD by default, and others may be configured by an Argo CD admin.)
See the Argo CD RBAC documentation for an explanation of the privileges available in Argo CD.
Events exploit
A related exploit is possible for a user with get access to an Application even if they do not have access to the Application's source git or Helm repository or sync and override access to the Application. The user can access any Event in the Application's destination cluster if they know the involved object's name, UID, and namespace.
Impacts for versions starting with v0.8.0
The same bug exists starting with v0.8.0, but only the following exploits were possible before v1.0.0:
- The
deleteexploit (#2 above). - The logs exploit (#4 above).
- The Events exploit described above.
Impacts for versions starting with v0.5.0
The same bug exists starting with v0.5.0 (when RBAC was implemented), but only the Events exploit described above was possible before v0.8.0.
Patches
A patch for this vulnerability has been released in the following Argo CD versions:
- v2.3.2
- v2.2.8
- v2.1.14
Versions 2.0.x and earlier users: See the changelog for links to upgrade instructions for your version. It is imperative to upgrade quickly, but some limited mitigations are described in the next section.
argo-helm chart users: Argo CD users deploying v2.3.x with argo-helm can upgrade the chart to version 4.2.2. Argo CD 2.2 and 2.1 users can set the global.image.tag value to the latest in your current release series (v2.2.8, or v2.1.14). Since charts for the 2.2 and 2.1 series are no longer maintained, you will need to either leave the value override in place or upgrade to the 4.x chart series (and therefore to Argo CD 2.3).
Workarounds
The only certain way to avoid the vulnerability is to upgrade.
Mitigations
- To avoid privilege escalation:
- Limit who has push access to Application source repositories or
sync+overrideaccess to Applications. - Limit which repositories are available in projects where users have
updateaccess to Applications.
- Limit who has push access to Application source repositories or
- To avoid unauthorized resource inspection/tampering:
- Limit who has
delete,get, oractionaccess to Applications.
- Limit who has
These mitigations can help limit potential damage, but they are not a substitute for upgrading. It is necessary to upgrade immediately.
References
For more information
Open an issue in the Argo CD issue tracker or discussions Join us on Slack in channel #argo-cd
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd | ≥ 0.5.0&&< 2.1.14 | 2.1.14go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd@v2.1.14 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd | ≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.8 | 2.2.8go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd@v2.2.8 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.2 | 2.3.2go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd@v2.3.2 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/argoproj/argo-cd, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/argoproj/argo-cd to 2.1.14 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-1025 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-1025 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-1025. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.2 | openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:v1.2.3-3 | RHSA-2022:1039 |
| Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.3 | openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:v1.3.5-4 | RHSA-2022:1040 |
| Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.3 | openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:v1.3.6-3 | RHSA-2022:1042 |
| Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.4 | openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:v1.4.4-6 | RHSA-2022:1041 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-1025 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-1025 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.