CVE-2026-33211 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.6) Path Traversal vulnerability in github.com/tektoncd/pipeline. A fix is available for github.com/tektoncd/pipeline — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Tekton Pipelines git resolver has path traversal that allows reading arbitrary files from the resolver pod
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-2026-33211.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
github.com/tektoncd/pipeline🐹github.com/tektoncd/pipeline🐹github.com/tektoncd/pipeline🐹github.com/tektoncd/pipeline🐹github.com/tektoncd/pipelineReal-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
The Tekton Pipelines git resolver is vulnerable to path traversal via the pathInRepo parameter. A tenant with permission to create ResolutionRequests (e.g. by creating TaskRuns or PipelineRuns that use the git resolver) can read arbitrary files from the resolver pod's filesystem, including ServiceAccount tokens. The file contents are returned base64-encoded in resolutionrequest.status.data.
Details
The git resolver's getFileContent() function in pkg/resolution/resolver/git/repository.go constructs a file path by joining the repository clone directory with the user-supplied pathInRepo parameter:
fileContents, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(repo.directory, path))
The pathInRepo parameter is not validated for path traversal sequences. An attacker can supply values like ../../../../etc/passwd to escape the cloned repository directory and read arbitrary files from the resolver pod's filesystem.
The vulnerability was introduced in commit 318006c4e3a5 which switched the git resolver from the go-git library (using an in-memory filesystem that cannot be escaped) to shelling out to the git binary and reading files with os.ReadFile() from the real filesystem.
Impact
Arbitrary file read — A namespace-scoped tenant who can create TaskRuns or PipelineRuns with git resolver parameters can read any file readable by the resolver pod process.
Credential exfiltration and privilege escalation — The resolver pod's ServiceAccount token is readable at a well-known path (/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token). In the default RBAC configuration, the tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount has get, list, and watch permissions on secrets cluster-wide. An attacker who exfiltrates this token gains the ability to read all Secrets across all namespaces, escalating from namespace-scoped access to cluster-wide secret access.
Patches
Fixed in 1.0.x, 1.3.x, 1.6.x, 1.9.x, 1.10.x.
The fix validates pathInRepo to reject paths containing .. components at parameter validation time, and adds a containment check using filepath.EvalSymlinks() to prevent symlink-based escapes from attacker-controlled repositories.
Workarounds
There is no workaround other than restricting which users can create TaskRuns, PipelineRuns, or ResolutionRequests that use the git resolver. Administrators can also reduce the impact by scoping the resolver pod's ServiceAccount RBAC permissions using a custom ClusterRole with more restrictive rules.
Affected Versions
All releases from v1.0.0 through v1.10.0, including all patch releases:
- v1.0.0, v1.1.0, v1.2.0
- v1.3.0, v1.3.1, v1.3.2
- v1.4.0, v1.5.0, v1.6.0, v1.7.0
- v1.9.0, v1.9.1, v1.10.0
Releases prior to v1.0.0 (e.g. v0.70.0 and earlier) are not affected because they used the go-git library's in-memory filesystem where path traversal cannot escape the git worktree.
Acknowledgments
This vulnerability was reported by Oleh Konko (@1seal), who provided a thorough vulnerability analysis, proof-of-concept, and review of the fix. Thank you!
References
- Fix: (link to merged PR/commit)
- Introduced in:
318006c4e3a5("fix: resolve Git Anonymous Resolver excessive memory usage")
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/tektoncd/pipeline | ≥ 1.0.0&&< 1.0.1 | 1.0.1go get github.com/tektoncd/pipeline@v1.0.1 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/tektoncd/pipeline | ≥ 1.1.0&&< 1.3.3 | 1.3.3go get github.com/tektoncd/pipeline@v1.3.3 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/tektoncd/pipeline | ≥ 1.4.0&&< 1.6.1 | 1.6.1go get github.com/tektoncd/pipeline@v1.6.1 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/tektoncd/pipeline | ≥ 1.7.0&&< 1.9.2 | 1.9.2go get github.com/tektoncd/pipeline@v1.9.2 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/tektoncd/pipeline | ≥ 1.10.0&&< 1.10.2 | 1.10.2go get github.com/tektoncd/pipeline@v1.10.2 |
Affected Products
tekton pipelineslinuxfoundationDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/tektoncd/pipeline, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/tektoncd/pipeline to 1.0.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-33211 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
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.
To exploit this flaw, an attacker needs to have the permission to create ResolutionRequests (e.g., by creating TaskRuns or PipelineRuns that use the git resolver) within at least one specific namespace, limiting the exposure of this issue to authenticated users. Also, an attacker can read any file readable by the…
To mitigate this vulnerability, restrict the creation of ResolutionRequests to trusted users and service accounts. Implement strict Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) policies to limit which tenants can create TaskRuns or PipelineRuns that utilize the Tekton Pipelines git resolver. This reduces the exposure by preventing unauthorized access to the resolver pod's filesystem.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2026-33211 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Builds for Red Hat OpenShift 1.6.0 | openshift-builds/openshift-builds-rhel9-operator:1776859898 | RHSA-2026:10155 |
| Builds for Red Hat OpenShift 1.6.0 | openshift-builds/openshift-builds-rhel9-operator:1776859898 | RHSA-2026:11330 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Builds 1.7.3 | openshift-builds/openshift-builds-rhel9-operator:1776860241 | RHSA-2026:10158 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Builds 1.7.3 | openshift-builds/openshift-builds-rhel9-operator:1776860241 | RHSA-2026:11331 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines 1.2 | openshift-pipelines/pipelines-resolvers-rhel9:1774596617 | RHSA-2026:10026 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines 1.2 | openshift-pipelines/pipelines-operator-bundle:1776925111 | RHSA-2026:10066 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines 1.2 | openshift-pipelines/pipelines-pipelines-as-code-controller-rhel9:1779865001 | RHSA-2026:21931 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Pipelines 1.2 | openshift-pipelines/pipelines-operator-bundle:1780044955 | RHSA-2026:21932 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-33211 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.