CVE-2026-40938
Linuxfoundation Tekton Pipelines 1.0.0 – 1.11.0
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-40938 is a high-severity Argument Injection (CWE-88) vulnerability in Linuxfoundation Tekton Pipelines. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 47% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-40938 affects the Tekton Pipelines project, which provides Kubernetes-style resources for declaring CI/CD-style pipelines. In versions from 1.0.0 to before 1.11.0, the git resolver passes the revision parameter directly as a positional argument to the `git fetch` command without validating that it does not begin with a hyphen (-). This allows attackers to inject arbitrary `git fetch` flags, such as `--upload-pack=<binary>`. Additionally, the `validateRepoURL` function explicitly permits URLs starting with /, enabling the use of local filesystem paths.
A tenant with the ability to submit ResolutionRequest objects can exploit this by chaining the flag injection with a local path repository URL, leading to execution of an arbitrary binary on the resolver pod. The tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount possesses cluster-wide get/list/watch permissions on all Secrets, allowing an attacker achieving code execution to exfiltrate secrets across the entire cluster. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 7.5 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-88 (Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command).
The vulnerability is fixed in Tekton Pipelines version 1.11.1, as detailed in the project's release notes and security advisory GHSA-94jr-7pqp-xhcq. Security practitioners should upgrade to 1.11.1 or later and review access controls for ResolutionRequest submissions to mitigate exposure.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-24491
Vulnerability Data
Tekton Pipelines project provides k8s-style resources for declaring CI/CD-style pipelines. Starting in version 1.0.0 and prior to versions 1.0.2, 1.3.4, 1.6.2, 1.9.3, and 1.11.1, the git resolver's revision parameter is passed directly as a positional argument to git fetch without…
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any validation that it does not begin with a - character. Because git parses flags from mixed positional arguments, an attacker can inject arbitrary git fetch flags such as --upload-pack=<binary>. Combined with the validateRepoURL function explicitly permitting URLs that begin with / (local filesystem paths), a tenant who can submit ResolutionRequest objects can chain these two behaviors to execute an arbitrary binary on the resolver pod. The tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount holds cluster-wide get/list/watch on all Secrets, so code execution on the resolver pod enables full cluster-wide secret exfiltration. Versions 1.0.2, 1.3.4, 1.6.2, 1.9.3, and 1.11.1 fix the issue.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.2.5
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing can discover argument-injection flaws in command-construction code but does not stop their introduction.
Input validation directly stops construction of command strings containing unneutralized delimiters or injected arguments.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require proper input validation and command construction to prevent argument injection.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can detect argument injection but does not prevent it at the source.
Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and command construction practices that directly prevent argument injection.
Application security requirements include explicit rules for safe command-line argument handling and escaping.
Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe command invocation patterns and favor safer APIs.
Secure coding standards explicitly require proper neutralization of command arguments, directly eliminating CWE-88.
Change management can catch unsafe command patterns during reviews but is not a direct mitigation.