How severe is CVE-2022-31036?

CVE-2022-31036 has a CVSS score of 4.3/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-31036?

CVE-2022-31036 affects the following packages: github.com/argoproj/argo-cd (Go), github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (Go), github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (Go), github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (Go), github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2022-31036?

Update github.com/argoproj/argo-cd to 2.1.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-31036 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-31036 in my Go dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-31036 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop feeding it untrusted input: reject or quarantine files and payloads from unverified sources until you can upgrade, restrict accepted formats to the ones you actually need, and run the parsing or decoding step in a least-privileged sandbox or short-lived worker so a crash or corrupted read cannot reach the rest of the process.

Is CVE-2022-31036 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-31036 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-31036?

CVE-2022-31036 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.9%, placing it in the 60th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-31036?

CVE-2022-31036 is classified as Improper Input Validation (CWE-20), CWE-61 (CWE-61), CWE-59 (CWE-59). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2022-31036 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-31036 was published on June 27, 2022 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹

🐹 Go

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-31036 — argo-cd

MEDIUMFix: argoproj/argo-cd@04c3053

CVE-2022-31036 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-cd. A fix is available for github.com/argoproj/argo-cd — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Symlink following allows leaking out-of-bounds YAML files from Argo CD repo-server

Also known asGHSA-q4w5-4gq2-98vmGO-2022-0499

Published

Jun 27, 2022

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

5 pkgs

Patched

5 / 5

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 6, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-31036.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs60th percentile — riskier than 60% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

5 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2

Real-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

All unpatched versions of Argo CD starting with v1.3.0 are vulnerable to a symlink following bug allowing a malicious user with repository write access to leak sensitive YAML files from Argo CD's repo-server.

A malicious Argo CD user with write access for a repository which is (or may be) used in a Helm-type Application may commit a symlink which points to an out-of-bounds file. If the target file is a valid YAML file, the attacker can read the contents of that file.

Sensitive files which could be leaked include manifest files from other Applications' source repositories (potentially decrypted files, if you are using a decryption plugin) or any YAML-formatted secrets which have been mounted as files on the repo-server.

Patches

A patch for this vulnerability has been released in the following Argo CD versions:

v2.4.1
v2.3.5
v2.2.10
v2.1.16

Workarounds

If you are using >=v2.3.0 and do not have any Helm-type Applications, disable the Helm config management tool.

Mitigations

Avoid mounting YAML-formatted secrets as files on the repo-server.
Upgrade to >=2.3.0 to significantly reduce the risk of leaking out-of-bounds manifest files. Starting with 2.3.0, repository paths are randomized, and read permissions are restricted when manifests are not being actively being generated. This makes it very difficult to craft and use a malicious symlink.

Best practices which can mitigate risk

Limit who has push access to manifest repositories.
Limit who is allowed to configure new source repositories.

Credits

Disclosed by ADA Logics in a security audit of the Argo project sponsored by CNCF and facilitated by OSTIF. Thanks to Adam Korczynski and David Korczynski for their work on the audit.

References

List of types of Applications, including Helm-type
RBAC documentation, showing how to limit repository permissions

For more information

Open an issue in the Argo CD issue tracker or discussions
Join us on Slack in channel #argo-cd

Affected Packages

5 total 5 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/argoproj/argo-cd`	≥ 1.3.0&&< 2.1.16	2.1.16`go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd@v2.1.16`
🐹Go	`github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2`	all versions	2.1.16`go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2@v2.1.16`
🐹Go	`github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2`	≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.10	2.2.10`go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2@v2.2.10`
🐹Go	`github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2`	≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.5	2.3.5`go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2@v2.3.5`
🐹Go	`github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2`	≥ 2.4.0&&< 2.4.1	2.4.1`go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2@v2.4.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 4 configurations

Application

argo cdargoproj

≥ 1.3.0 && < 2.1.6

3 versions

2.2.92.3.42.4.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
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 2.1.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-31036 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop feeding it untrusted input: reject or quarantine files and payloads from unverified sources until you can upgrade, restrict accepted formats to the ones you actually need, and run the parsing or decoding step in a least-privileged sandbox or short-lived worker so a crash or corrupted read cannot reach the rest of the process.

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.

Red HatModerate

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.3	`openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:v1.3.12-1`	RHSA-2022:5187
Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.3	`openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:v1.3.11-4`	RHSA-2022:5192
Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.4	`openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:v1.4.9-3`	RHSA-2022:5153
Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.5	`openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:v1.5.3-2`	RHSA-2022:5152

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact All unpatched versions of Argo CD starting with v1.3.0 are vulnerable to a symlink following bug allowing a malicious user with repository write access to leak sensitive YAML files from Argo CD's repo-server. A malicious Argo CD user with write access for a repository which is (or may be) used in a Helm-type Application may commit a symlink which points to an out-of-bounds file. If the target file is a valid YAML file, the attacker can read the contents of that file. Sensitive files which could be leaked include manifest files from other Applications' source repositories (potenti