Your RSA-2048 keys break in 2030. Find every one of them before attackers do.
🐹 Go
Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2026-42183 — v4

Fix: argoproj/argo-workflows@c4cc17d

CVE-2026-42183 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4. A fix is available for github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4 — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Argo Workflows: SSO RBAC Delegation Nil Pointer Dereference DoS (gatekeeper.go)

Also known asBIT-argo-workflows-2026-42183GHSA-p4gq-3vxj-f4jqGO-2026-5527
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
Aug 12, 2026
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Sep 23, 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-2026-42183.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
0.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs32th percentile — riskier than 32% 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/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4

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 nil pointer dereference in server/auth/gatekeeper.go rbacAuthorization() causes a panic (denial of service) for SSO users whose claims match a namespace-level RBAC rule but not an SSO-namespace rule, when SSO_DELEGATE_RBAC_TO_NAMESPACE=true.

Details

When getServiceAccount(claims, ssoNamespace) returns nil (no matching rule), the error is suppressed and loginAccount remains nil. If RBAC delegation finds a matching namespaceAccount, line 304 calls precedence(loginAccount) which unconditionally accesses serviceAccount.Annotations — nil pointer dereference.

Affected code (v4.0.4):

// gatekeeper.go:304
} else if precedence(namespaceAccount) > precedence(loginAccount) {
    // loginAccount is nil here -> precedence(nil) -> PANIC

// gatekeeper.go:232-234
func precedence(serviceAccount *corev1.ServiceAccount) int {
    i, _ := strconv.Atoi(serviceAccount.Annotations[common.AnnotationKeyRBACRulePrecedence])
    return i
}

PoC

Live-tested 2026-04-17: kind cluster, Argo Workflows v4.0.4, Dex v2.43.1 OIDC provider.

  1. Deploy Argo Workflows with --auth-mode=sso --auth-mode=client, SSO pointing to Dex, RBAC enabled.
  2. Set SSO_DELEGATE_RBAC_TO_NAMESPACE=true on the argo-server deployment.
  3. Create an RBAC ServiceAccount with workflows.argoproj.io/rbac-rule: "true" annotation in a target namespace (e.g., target-ns).
  4. Do not create a matching RBAC rule in the SSO namespace (argo).
  5. Authenticate via the Dex SSO flow.
  6. Request GET /api/v1/workflows/target-ns with the SSO session cookie.
  7. Server returns HTTP 500: {"code":13,"message":"runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference"}
  8. Server logs: Recovered from panic with stack trace at gatekeeper.go:233 (precedence()) called from gatekeeper.go:304.

Every subsequent API request from affected SSO users triggers the same panic.

Impact

Permanent denial of service for any SSO user whose claims don't match SSO-namespace RBAC but do match a target namespace rule. Realistic in multi-tenant deployments with per-namespace RBAC. The gRPC recovery interceptor catches the panic so the server process survives, but the affected user gets HTTP 500 on every request.

Suggested Fix

Add nil check: if loginAccount == nil || precedence(namespaceAccount) > precedence(loginAccount)

AI Disclosure

This advisory was prepared with AI assistance (Claude Code, Anthropic).

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐹Gogithub.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.54.0.5go get github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4@v4.0.5

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency
  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/v4 to 4.0.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-42183 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-42183 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2026-42183. 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 nil pointer dereference in `server/auth/gatekeeper.go` `rbacAuthorization()` causes a panic (denial of service) for SSO users whose claims match a namespace-level RBAC rule but not an SSO-namespace rule, when `SSO_DELEGATE_RBAC_TO_NAMESPACE=true`. ### Details When `getServiceAccount(claims, ssoNamespace)` returns nil (no matching rule), the error is suppressed and `loginAccount` remains nil. If RBAC delegation finds a matching `namespaceAccount`, line 304 calls `precedence(loginAccount)` which unconditionally accesses `serviceAccount.Annotations` — nil pointer dereference. **Af
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-42183 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2026-42183 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

CVE-2026-42183: v4 DoS | O3 Security