How severe is CVE-2025-55196?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2025-55196 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2025-55196?

CVE-2025-55196 affects the following packages: github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2025-55196?

Update github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets to 0.19.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-55196 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2025-55196 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2025-55196 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2025-55196?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2025-55196 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is CVE-2025-55196 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2025-55196 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-2025-55196?

CVE-2025-55196 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.4%, placing it in the 29th 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-2025-55196?

CVE-2025-55196 is classified as CWE-284 (CWE-284). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2025-55196 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2025-55196 was published on August 13, 2025 and was last updated on August 12, 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

CVE-2025-55196 — external-secrets

Fix: external-secrets/external-secrets@39cdba5

CVE-2025-55196 is a CWE-284 vulnerability in github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets. A fix is available for github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets — see the affected versions and patch details below.

External Secrets Operator Missing Namespace Restriction in PushSecret and SecretStore List() Calls Allows Unauthorized Secret Access

Also known asGHSA-fcxq-v2r3-cc8hGO-2025-3885

Published

Aug 13, 2025

Updated

Aug 12, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Sep 21, 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-2025-55196.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs29th percentile — riskier than 29% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐹github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets

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

Summary

A vulnerability was discovered in the External Secrets Operator where the List() calls for Kubernetes Secret and SecretStore resources performed by the PushSecret controller did not apply a namespace selector.
This flaw allowed an attacker to use label selectors to list and read secrets/secret-stores across the cluster, bypassing intended namespace restrictions.

Impact

An attacker with the ability to create or update PushSecret resources and control SecretStore configurations could exploit this vulnerability to exfiltrate sensitive data from arbitrary namespaces.
This could lead to full disclosure of Kubernetes secrets, including credentials, tokens, and other sensitive information stored in the cluster.

Exploitability

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must:

Have permissions to create or update PushSecret resources.
Control one or more SecretStore resources.

With these conditions met, the attacker could leverage label selectors to list secrets from any namespace and retrieve their contents.

Affected Versions

Vulnerable: v0.15.0 – v0.19.1
Not Vulnerable: v0.19.2 and later

Fix

The vulnerability was addressed in v0.19.2 by adding namespace restrictions to the List() calls for both PushSecret and SecretStore controllers.
This ensures that only secrets in the intended namespace are accessible.

Relevant fixes:

#5133 – Enforce namespace selector for PushSecret List() calls
#5109 – Enforce namespace selector for SecretStore List() calls

Mitigation

If upgrading to v0.19.2 or later is not immediately possible, the following mitigations are recommended:

Restrict RBAC permissions so that only trusted service accounts can create or update PushSecret and SecretStore resources.
Audit existing PushSecret and SecretStore resources to ensure they are controlled by trusted parties.
Review Network Policies to prevent data exfiltration

Credit

This vulnerability was reported by @gracedo and @moolen

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets`	≥ 0.15.0&&< 0.19.2	0.19.2`go get github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets@v0.19.2`

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/external-secrets/external-secrets, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets to 0.19.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-55196 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-2025-55196 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2025-55196. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

## Summary A vulnerability was discovered in the External Secrets Operator where the `List()` calls for Kubernetes Secret and SecretStore resources performed by the `PushSecret` controller did not apply a namespace selector. This flaw allowed an attacker to use label selectors to list and read secrets/secret-stores across the cluster, bypassing intended namespace restrictions. --- ## Impact An attacker with the ability to create or update `PushSecret` resources and control `SecretStore` configurations could exploit this vulnerability to exfiltrate sensitive data from arbitrary namespaces.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2025-55196 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2025-55196 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works