CVE-2022-29165
CRITICALArgo CD will blindly trust JWT claims if anonymous access is enabled
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.
Blast Radius
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2🐹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
Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. A critical vulnerability has been discovered in Argo CD starting with version 1.4.0 and prior to versions 2.1.15, 2.2.9, and 2.3.4 which would allow unauthenticated users to impersonate as any Argo CD user or role, including the admin user, by sending a specifically crafted JSON Web Token (JWT) along with the request. In order for this vulnerability to be exploited, anonymous access to the Argo CD instance must have been enabled. In a default Argo CD installation, anonymous access is disabled. The vulnerability can be exploited to impersonate as any user or role, including the built-in admin account regardless of whether it is enabled or disabled. Also, the attacker does not need an account on the Argo CD instance in order to exploit this. If anonymous access to the instance is enabled, an attacker can escalate their privileges, effectively allowing them to gain the same privileges on the cluster as the Argo CD instance, which is cluster admin in a default installation. This will allow the attacker to create, manipulate and delete any resource on the cluster. They may also exfiltrate data by deploying malicious workloads with elevated privileges, thus bypassing any redaction of sensitive data otherwise enforced by the Argo CD API. A patch for this vulnerability has been released in Argo CD versions 2.3.4, 2.2.9, and 2.1.15. As a workaround, one may disable anonymous access, but upgrading to a patched version is preferable.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.4 | 2.3.4 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 | ≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.9 | 2.2.9 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 | all versions | 2.1.15 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd | all versions | 2.1.15 |
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/v2. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 to 2.3.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-29165 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-29165 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2022-29165. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-29165 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2022-29165 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.