CVE-2026-73246
CVE-2026-73246 — Kestra: Unauthenticated management `/worker` endpoint exposes live task configuration and plaintext credentials
Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 2.0.0-rc6, Kestra's worker/src/main/java/io/kestra/worker/endpoint/WorkerEndpoint.java serves GET /worker without authentication and serializes the complete live Task object, which can expose commands, environment variables, HTTP headers, connection details, plaintext credentials, and execution identifiers while the main API on port 8080 remains protected. This issue is fixed in 2.0.0-rc6.
Published Updated Sources: NVD, kestra-io (CNA), GitHub, SOCRadar CTI
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.
Exploitation
Exploit code
public exploit, none observed
EPSS
0%
ahead of 0% of scored CVEs
CVSS base
7.5
high
Remediation
The vendor's own words where we have them.
Upgrade kestra to a fixed release. Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.
- Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
- Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| kestra-io | kestra | < 1.3.31 | Vulnerable |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Availability
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Scope
Unchanged
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Vector
Network
Privileges Req
None
User Interaction
None
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 | CVSS 3.1 | high | 3.9 | 3.6 | GitHub (CNA), kestra-io (CNA) |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
What this weakness leads to
MITRE's own consequences and mitigations for the weakness class — the authority's wording, not guidance derived from the CVSS vector.
CWE-306 · Missing Authentication for Critical Function
- Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
- Other
Mitigation: Divide the software into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Identify which of these areas require a proven user identity, and use a centralized authentication capability. Identify all potential communication channels, or other means of interaction with the software, to ensure that all channels are appropriately protected. Developers sometimes perform authentication at the primary channel, but open up a secondary channel that is assumed to be private. For example, a login mechanism may be listening on one network port, but after successful authentication, it may open up a second port where it waits for the connection, but avoids authentication because it assumes that only the authenticated party will connect to the port. In general, if the software or protocol allows a single session or user state to persist across multiple connections or channels, authentication and appropriate credential management need to be used throughout.
CWE-200 · Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
- Read Application Data::
Mitigation: Compartmentalize the system to have safe areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.::
Weakness & attack patterns
- CWE-200
- CWE-306Missing Authentication for Critical Function
Attack patterns reported against this CVE. The ATT&CK techniques below are inferred from its weakness class.
- T1562.003Impair Defenses: Impair Command History Logging
- T1574.006Hijack Execution Flow: Dynamic Linker Hijacking
- T1574.007Hijack Execution Flow: Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable
Public exploit
Capability, not use: code existing is a different claim from anyone running it.
Repositories
1
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.
- Search application, proxy, and WAF logs for requests touching /src/main/java/io/kestra/worker/endpoint/WorkerEndpoint.java, /worker.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable kestra.
- Monitor for scanner or exploit-pattern traffic after 1 public PoC repositories were reported.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.
- 2026
Added · CVSS 3.1 7.5 (AV:N)
Aug 11, 2026 · NVD
Initial · CVE published
Aug 11, 2026 · NVD
Source activity
Readings a source repeats on a schedule, counted rather than listed.
- 1×CVE modified by NIST, Modified, LinkAug 12, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
References
1 on the record
- github.com/kestra-io/kestra/security/advisories/GHSA-m65f-q5gj-hg46
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, NIST, Mitre
Elsewhere on this site
- kestra-ioevery CVE for this vendor
- Remote Code Execsame class
- CWE-200other pages naming this weakness
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record1
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-73246 is Kestra: Unauthenticated management `/worker` endpoint exposes live task configuration and plaintext credentials, a high vulnerability affecting kestra from kestra-io. The current evidence does not list it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Active exploitation is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-73246. Public exploit evidence is: 1 public PoC repositories reported; 0 marked weaponized in current dataset. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 7.5 describes technical severity, while EPSS 0% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.