GHSA-g88p-r42r-ppp9 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) CWE-362 vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2. A fix is available for github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Repository Credentials Race Condition Crashes Argo CD Server
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 GHSA-g88p-r42r-ppp9.
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-g88p-r42r-ppp9 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3Real-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 race condition in the repository credentials handler can cause the Argo CD server to panic and crash when concurrent operations are performed on the same repository URL.
Details
The vulnerability is located in numerous repository related handlers in the util/db/repository_secrets.go file. For example, in the secretToRepoCred function. The issue manifests as a concurrent map access panic:
concurrent map read and map write
...
goroutine 1104 [running]:
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2/util/db.(*secretsRepositoryBackend).secretToRepoCred(0xc000e50ea8?, 0xc000c65540)
/go/src/github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/util/db/repository_secrets.go:404 +0x31e
The race condition occurs due to:
- Concurrent repository credential operations (create/update/delete) accessing the same map
- Kubernetes informer re-syncs happening simultaneously
- Background watchers updating the same secret data
- No mutex protection for map access
A valid API token with repositories resource permissions (create, update, or delete actions) is required to trigger the race condition.
Impact
This vulnerability causes the entire Argo CD server to crash and become unavailable. Attackers can repeatedly and continuously trigger the race condition to maintain a denial-of-service state, disrupting all GitOps operations. Default ArgoCD configuration is vulnerable.
The affected code was originally introduced in PR #6103 and released in v2.1.0.
This data race was addressed by deep-copying the Secret objects before reading/writing.
Credits
This vulnerability was found, reported and fixed by:
@thevilledev
The Argo team would like to thank him for his responsible disclosure and constructive communications during the resolve of this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 | ≥ 2.1.0&&< 2.14.20 | 2.14.20go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2@v2.14.20 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3 | ≥ 3.2.0-rc1&&< 3.2.0-rc2 | 3.2.0-rc2go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3@v3.2.0-rc2 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3 | ≥ 3.1.0-rc1&&< 3.1.8 | 3.1.8go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3@v3.1.8 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3 | ≥ 3.0.0-rc1&&< 3.0.19 | 3.0.19go get github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v3@v3.0.19 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 to 2.14.20 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-g88p-r42r-ppp9 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 GHSA-g88p-r42r-ppp9 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-g88p-r42r-ppp9. 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.
The availability risk of this vulnerability is limited to the Argo CD server itself. The host system running Argo CD is not at risk.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.16 | openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:1.16 | RHSA-2025:17730 |
| Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.17 | openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:1.17 | RHSA-2025:17731 |
| Red Hat OpenShift GitOps 1.18 | openshift-gitops-1/argocd-rhel8:1.18 | RHSA-2025:18093 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-g88p-r42r-ppp9 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-g88p-r42r-ppp9 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.