CVE-2026-23881: Kyverno Denial of Service via Context Variable Amplification in Policy Engine

Analyzed

AliasesCGA-6r37-ph56-8482CGA-v637-m3hh-26mwGHSA-r2rj-wwm5-x6mq+110 more

Published 27-01-2026Last modified 27-01-2026

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-23881 is a high (CVSS 7.7) vulnerability in kyverno. EPSS estimates a 0.62% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 49.6% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Priority

Prioritisepublic exploit

Public exploit (GitHub, Date unknown)

Source freshness unavailable

How is this decided?

CVSS score

7.7/10

010

High · v3.1 (CVE.org)

EPSS score

0.62%

0%100%

Low · +0.01 pp in 30 days

KEVNot listedNot listed by any tracked catalog.

RansomwareNot flaggedNo ransomware use recorded.

Public exploits1github

Advisory lineage

Upstream 0 · Downstream 2 · Related 3

OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21483-1 SUSE-SU-2026:0403-1 CGA-6F7X-65FP-W8X5

Timeline

27-01-2026
PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
27-01-2026
Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Kyverno is a policy engine designed for cloud native platform engineering teams. Versions prior to 1.16.3 and 1.15.3 have unbounded memory consumption in Kyverno's policy engine that allows users with policy creation privileges to cause denial of service by crafting policies that exponentially amplify string data through context variables. Versions 1.16.3 and 1.15.3 contain a patch for the vulnerability.

CVSS metrics

5 scores · 5 sources · 1 version

v3.17.7

EPSS trend

Probability

0.62%

Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days

Percentile

50%

Versus all other CVEs

30-day change

Increase +0.01 pp

From 0.60% on 04-10-2026

04-10-202603-11-2026

Known exploited

Compare KEV catalogs

CISA KEV

Not in the CISA KEV catalog.

ENISA CNW

Not in the ENISA CNW catalog.

CIRCL

Not in the CIRCL catalog.

Public exploits

1 found

githubUnverified
Kyverno
Maturity: poc

Weaknesses

CWE · root cause

CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or ThrottlingThe product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.

Affected systems

Version check

Known conditions: network-reachable, low-privilege account, no user interaction (CVSS vector). Other conditions: not stated in public data.

Chainguard53 products

commercial-kyverno-1.13All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-1.14All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-1.15All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-1.16All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-background-controller-1.13All versions (No fix recorded)

commercial-kyverno-background-controller-1.14All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-background-controller-1.15All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-background-controller-1.16All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-cleanup-controller-1.13All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-cleanup-controller-1.14All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-cleanup-controller-1.15All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-cleanup-controller-1.16All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-reports-controller-1.13All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-reports-controller-1.14All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-reports-controller-1.15All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyverno-reports-controller-1.16All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyvernopre-1.13All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyvernopre-1.14All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyvernopre-1.15All versions (No fix recorded)
commercial-kyvernopre-1.16All versions (No fix recorded)
kyverno-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-background-controller-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-background-controller-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-background-controller-fips-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-background-controller-fips-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-background-controller-fips-1.16< 1.16.3-r0
kyverno-cleanup-controller-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-cleanup-controller-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-cleanup-controller-fips-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-cleanup-controller-fips-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-cleanup-controller-fips-1.16< 1.16.3-r0
kyverno-cli-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-cli-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-cli-fips-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-cli-fips-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-cli-fips-1.16< 1.16.3-r0
kyverno-fips-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-fips-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-fips-1.16< 1.16.3-r0
kyverno-init-container-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-init-container-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-init-container-fips-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-init-container-fips-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-init-container-fips-1.16< 1.16.3-r0
kyverno-notation-aws< 1.1-r33
kyverno-notation-aws-fips< 1.1-r32
kyverno-reports-controller-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-reports-controller-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-reports-controller-fips-1.13< 1.13.6-r13
kyverno-reports-controller-fips-1.14< 1.14.5-r5
kyverno-reports-controller-fips-1.16< 1.16.3-r0
reports-serverAll versions (No fix recorded)

Show all 53

Github.com/kyverno1 product

kyverno< 1.15.3 | ≥ 1.16.0-rc.1, < 1.16.3

Kyverno1 product

kyverno< 1.15.3 | ≥ 1.16.0, < 1.16.3

Wolfi1 product

kyverno-notation-aws< 1.1-r33

4 vendors · 56 products

References

6 links

github.com/kyverno/kyverno/security/advisories/GHSA-r2rj-wwm5-x6mqX Refsource CONFIRMAdvisoryWEBExploitMitigationVendor Advisory
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/commit/7a651be3a8c78dcabfbf4178b8d89026bf3b850fX Refsource MISCFIXWEBPatch
github.com/kyverno/kyverno/commit/f5617f60920568a301740485472bf704892175b7X Refsource MISCFIXWEBPatch
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/23xxx/CVE-2026-23881.jsonAdvisory
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23881Advisory
github.com/kyverno/kyvernoPACKAGE