GHSA-r9cr-hvjj-496v
HIGHGHSA-r9cr-hvjj-496v is a high-severity (CVSS 7.7) Path Traversal vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-cd. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-r9cr-hvjj-496v is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Path traversal and improper access control allows leaking out-of-bound files from Argo CD repo-server
Blast Radius
github.com/argoproj/argo-cd🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cd🐹github.com/argoproj/argo-cdReal-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
All unpatched versions of Argo CD starting with v1.3.0 are vulnerable to a path traversal bug, compounded by an improper access control bug, allowing a malicious user with read-only repository access to leak sensitive files from Argo CD's repo-server.
A malicious Argo CD user who has been granted get access for a repository containing a Helm chart can craft an API request to the /api/v1/repositories/{repo_url}/appdetails endpoint to leak the contents of out-of-bounds files from the repo-server.
The malicious payload would reference an out-of-bounds file, and the contents of that file would be returned as part of the response. Contents from a non-YAML file may be returned as part of an error message. The attacker would have to know or guess the location of the target file.
Sensitive files which could be leaked include files from other Applications' source repositories (potentially decrypted files, if you are using a decryption plugin) or any secrets which have been mounted as files on the repo-server.
Patches
A patch for this vulnerability has been released in the following Argo CD versions:
- v2.3.0
- v2.2.6
- v2.1.11
The patches do two things:
- prevent path traversal
- limit
/api/v1/repositories/{repo_url}/appdetailsaccess to users who either A) have been granted Applicationcreateprivileges or B) have been granted Applicationgetprivileges and are requesting details for arepo_urlthat has already been used for the given Application
Workarounds
The only certain way to avoid the vulnerability is to upgrade.
To mitigate the problem, you can
- avoid storing secrets in git
- avoid mounting secrets as files on the repo-server
- avoid decrypting secrets into files on the repo-server
- carefully limit who has
getaccess for repositories
References
For more information
Open an issue in the Argo CD issue tracker or discussions Join us on Slack in channel #argo-cd
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd | ≥ 1.3.0&&< 2.1.11 | 2.1.11 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd | ≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.6 | 2.2.6 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/argoproj/argo-cd | ≥ 2.3.0-rc1&&< 2.3.0 | 2.3.0 |
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. 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/argoproj/argo-cd to 2.1.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r9cr-hvjj-496v 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-r9cr-hvjj-496v 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-r9cr-hvjj-496v. 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-r9cr-hvjj-496v in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-r9cr-hvjj-496v across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.