CVE-2025-68476 — v2
Fix: kedacore/keda@15c5677CVE-2025-68476 is a Path Traversal vulnerability in github.com/kedacore/keda/v2. A fix is available for github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
KEDA has Arbitrary File Read via Insufficient Path Validation in HashiCorp Vault Service Account Credential
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-2025-68476.
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.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/kedacore/keda/v2🐹github.com/kedacore/keda/v2Real-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
An Arbitrary File Read vulnerability has been identified in KEDA, potentially affecting any KEDA resource that uses TriggerAuthentication to configure HashiCorp Vault authentication.
The vulnerability stems from an incorrect or insufficient path validation when loading the Service Account Token specified in spec.hashiCorpVault.credential.serviceAccount.
An attacker with permissions to create or modify a TriggerAuthentication resource can exfiltrate the content of any file from the node's filesystem (where the KEDA pod resides) by directing the file's content to a server under their control, as part of the Vault authentication request.
The potential impact includes the exfiltration of sensitive system information, such as secrets, keys, or the content of files like /etc/passwd.
Patches
The problem has been patched in v2.17.3 and 2.18.3 as well as in main branch.
Workarounds
The only effective workaround is the strict restriction of permissions for creating and modifying TriggerAuthentication resources within the Kubernetes cluster.
Only trusted and authorized users should have create or update permissions on the TriggerAuthentication resource.
This limits an attacker's ability to configure a malicious TriggerAuthentication with an arbitrary path.
Is my project affected?
If it execute s
kubectl get deploy keda-operator -n keda -o jsonpath="{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}"
and the version is not 2.17.3, 2.18.3 or >= 2.19.0, that version is affected.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 | ≥ 2.18.0&&< 2.18.3 | 2.18.3go get github.com/kedacore/keda/v2@v2.18.3 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 | all versions | 2.17.3go get github.com/kedacore/keda/v2@v2.17.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/kedacore/keda/v2, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 to 2.18.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-68476 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-2025-68476 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2025-68476. 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.
This vulnerability is rated Important because an attacker with permissions to create or modify a KEDA TriggerAuthentication resource can perform arbitrary file reads from the node's filesystem. This impacts Red Hat OpenShift products that utilize KEDA with HashiCorp Vault authentication.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Metric Autoscaler operator for Red Hat Openshift 2.18 | custom-metrics-autoscaler/custom-metrics-autoscaler-adapter-rhel9:1770072436 | RHSA-2026:2368 |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25 | rhoai/odh-kserve-controller-rhel9:1770055872 | RHSA-2026:2106 |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI 2.25 | rhoai/odh-model-controller-rhel9:1770624309 | RHSA-2026:2695 |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI 3.3 | rhoai/odh-kserve-agent-rhel9:1770754605 | RHSA-2026:3713 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-68476 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2025-68476 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.