Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-53576 is a critical-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Kestra Kestra. Its CVSS base score is 10.0 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Stealth (T1211); ranked in the top 13% 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 AC-25 (Reference Monitor) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-39919
Vulnerability Data
Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21, the authentication filter for the REST API (@Filter("/api/v1/**")) treats any request whose path ends in /configs as the public instance-config endpoint and forwards it without a credential check.…
more
kestra addresses its resources by URL path segments that the caller chooses (/api/v1/{tenant}/flows/{namespace}, /api/v1/{tenant}/executions/{namespace}/{id}, /api/v1/{tenant}/namespaces/{namespace}/kv/{key}). An anonymous caller picks the literal configs as the final segment, and the request bypasses Basic-Auth entirely. Because the bypass reaches the flow-create and execution-trigger routes, an unauthenticated caller creates a flow containing a Shell or Process task and runs it. The task executes as root inside the kestra container. The official docker-compose.yml mounts /var/run/docker.sock, so root in the container reaches the host Docker daemon. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.0.45 and 1.3.21.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
- 7 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V6.4.3V6.6.1V12.1.3V1.3.1
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires a tamperproof, always-invoked reference monitor that structurally blocks bypass via any alternate path.
Enforces authorization checks on every logical access path, eliminating unauthenticated alternate channels.
Mandates unique identification and authentication for all organizational users, covering the primary authentication requirement.
Developer testing and evaluation finds code paths that accept and execute externally influenced strings.
Input validation directly stops untrusted data from being used to construct executable code without neutralization.
Least privilege limits the damage an injected code fragment can perform once executed.
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.
PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly target injection flaws via secure coding and testing (mostly), yet as a single broad outcome it leaves many code-generation specifics unaddressed (partial).
Requiring authentication on every channel and path directly eliminates alternate-path bypasses.
Enforcing authorizations and least privilege across all access vectors prevents unauthenticated alternate paths.
Protecting networks and environments from unauthorized logical access blocks bypass via undocumented channels.
PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.
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.
Access control policy directly addresses alternate authentication paths by requiring all channels to enforce authentication.
Authentication information management ensures credentials and mechanisms are consistently applied across all access paths.
Access rights provisioning and review prevent bypass via unmonitored or alternate channels.
Privileged access rights control reduces risk of bypass through elevated or alternate paths.
Network security can limit exposure of alternate channels but does not address authentication logic itself.
Security of network services may restrict alternate paths but does not enforce authentication requirements.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
- V-248598 There must be no ".shosts" files on the OL 8 operating system. prevents CWE-288
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-288
Oracle Linux 9 (2 rules)
- V-271757 OL 9 file systems must not contain shosts.equiv files. prevents CWE-288
- V-271758 OL 9 file systems must not contain .shosts files. prevents CWE-288
RHEL 7 (3 rules)
- V-204440 Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems version 7.2 or newer using Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-288
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-288
- V-204424 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not allow accounts configured with blank or null passwords. prevents CWE-288