GHSA-3hw7-qj9h-r835 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in github.com/gardener/gardener. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-3hw7-qj9h-r835 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Gardener allows bypassing project secret validation which can lead to privilege escalation
Real-World Exposure
github.com/gardener/gardener🐹github.com/gardener/gardener🐹github.com/gardener/gardenerReal-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
A security vulnerability was discovered in Gardener that could allow a user with administrative privileges for a Gardener project to obtain control over the seed cluster(s) where their shoot clusters are managed.
Am I Vulnerable?
This CVE affects all Gardener installations no matter of the public cloud provider(s) used for the seed clusters/shoot clusters.
Affected Components
gardener/gardener
Affected Versions
- < v1.116.4
- < v1.117.5
- < v1.118.2
- < v1.119.0
Fixed Versions
- >= v1.116.4
- >= v1.117.5
- >= v1.118.2
- >= v1.119.0
How do I mitigate this vulnerability?
Update to a fixed version.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/gardener/gardener | all versions | 1.116.4 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/gardener/gardener | ≥ 1.117.0&&< 1.117.5 | 1.117.5 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/gardener/gardener | ≥ 1.118.0&&< 1.118.2 | 1.118.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/gardener/gardener. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/gardener/gardener to 1.116.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-3hw7-qj9h-r835 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-3hw7-qj9h-r835 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-3hw7-qj9h-r835. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-3hw7-qj9h-r835 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-3hw7-qj9h-r835 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.