📄 Description (English)
Tekton Pipelines project provides k8s-style resources for declaring CI/CD-style pipelines. From 1.0.0 to before 1.11.0, the git resolver's revision parameter is passed directly as a positional argument to git fetch without 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. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.11.1.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
Tekton Pipelines versions 1.0.0 to 1.10.x contain a critical command injection vulnerability in the git resolver that allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary binaries on resolver pods. By injecting malicious git flags through unvalidated revision parameters combined with local filesystem path traversal, attackers can achieve remote code execution and exfiltrate cluster-wide secrets. This vulnerability is particularly severe for organizations using Tekton for CI/CD pipeline orchestration in Kubernetes environments.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 2, 2026 10:19
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations leveraging Tekton Pipelines for CI/CD automation—particularly in government digital transformation initiatives (NCA oversight), banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions), and energy sector (ARAMCO, downstream operators)—face critical risk. The vulnerability enables cluster-wide secret exfiltration affecting all Kubernetes secrets accessible to the tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount. Government agencies using Tekton for DevOps pipelines could experience unauthorized access to sensitive deployment credentials and infrastructure secrets. Financial institutions using Tekton for application deployment risk exposure of payment processing credentials and customer data encryption keys. Telecom operators (STC, Mobily) using Tekton for network automation could face infrastructure compromise.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government (Digital Transformation, NCA oversight)
Banking (SAMA-regulated institutions, payment processing)
Energy (ARAMCO, downstream operators, utilities)
Telecommunications (STC, Mobily, network automation)
Healthcare (hospital IT infrastructure, medical device management)
Technology/Software Development (all organizations using Tekton CI/CD)
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application (Tekton API exploitation)
T1059 - Command and Scripting Interpreter (git command injection)
T1078 - Valid Accounts (abuse of tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount)
T1552 - Unsecured Credentials (cluster-wide secret exfiltration)
T1526 - Cloud Service Discovery (Kubernetes secret enumeration)
T1005 - Data from Local System (local filesystem path traversal)
T1021 - Remote Service Session Initiation (arbitrary binary execution)
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.7
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all Tekton Pipelines deployments in your Kubernetes clusters and document their versions
2. Restrict ResolutionRequest object creation to trusted administrators only via RBAC policies
3. Implement network segmentation to limit resolver pod outbound connectivity
4. Enable audit logging for all ResolutionRequest submissions
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Upgrade Tekton Pipelines to version 1.11.1 or later immediately
2. For clusters unable to upgrade immediately, disable the git resolver if not actively used
3. If git resolver is required, implement a custom admission webhook to validate revision parameters do not start with '-' character
COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
1. Implement Pod Security Policy/Standards to restrict resolver pod capabilities (no privileged execution)
2. Use NetworkPolicy to restrict resolver pod egress to only required git repositories
3. Implement RBAC to remove get/list/watch permissions on Secrets from tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount where possible
4. Deploy runtime security monitoring (Falco/Sysdig) to detect suspicious process execution on resolver pods
5. Implement secret rotation policies for all credentials accessible to Tekton ServiceAccounts
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for ResolutionRequest objects with revision parameters containing '-' character
2. Alert on resolver pod process execution of unexpected binaries
3. Monitor for unusual git fetch command invocations with --upload-pack or similar flags
4. Track Secret access patterns from tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount
5. Log all RBAC changes affecting tekton-pipelines-resolvers ServiceAccount permissions
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. حدد جميع نشرات Tekton Pipelines في مجموعات Kubernetes الخاصة بك وقم بتوثيق إصداراتها
2. قيد إنشاء كائنات ResolutionRequest للمسؤولين الموثوقين فقط عبر سياسات RBAC
3. تنفيذ تقسيم الشبكة لتحديد اتصال الاتصال الصادر من حاوية المحلل
4. تفعيل تسجيل التدقيق لجميع عمليات إرسال ResolutionRequest
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. ترقية Tekton Pipelines إلى الإصدار 1.11.1 أو أحدث على الفور
2. بالنسبة للمجموعات غير القادرة على الترقية فوراً، قم بتعطيل محلل git إذا لم يكن قيد الاستخدام النشط
3. إذا كان محلل git مطلوباً، قم بتنفيذ webhook قبول مخصص للتحقق من أن معاملات المراجعة لا تبدأ بحرف '-'
الضوابط التعويضية:
1. تنفيذ سياسة أمان Pod/المعايير لتقييد قدرات حاوية المحلل (لا يوجد تنفيذ مميز)
2. استخدام NetworkPolicy لتقييد خروج حاوية المحلل فقط إلى مستودعات git المطلوبة
3. تنفيذ RBAC لإزالة أذونات get/list/watch على Secrets من ServiceAccount tekton-pipelines-resolvers حيث أمكن
4. نشر مراقبة أمان وقت التشغيل (Falco/Sysdig) للكشف عن تنفيذ العملية المريبة على حاويات المحلل
5. تنفيذ سياسات تدوير الأسرار لجميع بيانات الاعتماد التي يمكن الوصول إليها بواسطة ServiceAccounts Tekton
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة كائنات ResolutionRequest مع معاملات المراجعة التي تحتوي على حرف '-'
2. تنبيه عند تنفيذ عملية حاوية المحلل من ملفات ثنائية غير متوقعة
3. مراقبة استدعاءات أوامر git fetch غير العادية مع --upload-pack أو أعلام مماثلة
4. تتبع أنماط الوصول إلى Secret من ServiceAccount tekton-pipelines-resolvers
5. تسجيل جميع تغييرات RBAC التي تؤثر على أذونات ServiceAccount tekton-pipelines-resolvers
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Access Control Policy (RBAC enforcement for ResolutionRequest)
ECC 2024 A.8.1.1 - User Endpoint Devices (Kubernetes cluster security)
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - Privileged Access Rights (ServiceAccount permissions)
ECC 2024 A.8.2.3 - Access Restriction and Segregation (network policies)
ECC 2024 A.12.4.1 - Event Logging (audit logging for ResolutionRequest)
ECC 2024 A.12.4.3 - Administrator and Operator Logs (resolver pod activity)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-1 - Asset Management (inventory of Tekton deployments)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control (RBAC policies for ResolutionRequest)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-4 - Access Management (ServiceAccount permissions review)
SAMA CSF DE.AE-1 - Anomalies and Events (detection of malicious revision parameters)
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Detection Processes (monitoring resolver pod execution)
SAMA CSF RS.MI-2 - Incident Mitigation (secret rotation and access revocation)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 - Information Security Policies (Tekton security policy)
ISO 27001:2022 A.6.2 - Personnel Security (access control for ResolutionRequest)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.1 - User Endpoint Devices (Kubernetes security)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Privileged Access Rights (ServiceAccount management)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - Information Access Restriction (network segmentation)
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.4 - Logging (audit and detection logging)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 1.1 - Firewall Configuration (network policies for resolver pods)
PCI DSS 2.1 - Default Security Parameters (Tekton configuration hardening)
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security Patches (Tekton upgrade to 1.11.1)
PCI DSS 7.1 - Access Control (RBAC for ResolutionRequest)
PCI DSS 8.1 - User Identification (audit logging for ResolutionRequest)
PCI DSS 10.2 - Logging (detection of malicious git resolver usage)
🔗 References & Sources 3
🔗
https://github.com/tektoncd/pipeline/releases/tag/v1.11.1
security-advisories@github.com
Release Notes
🔗
https://github.com/tektoncd/pipeline/security/advisories/GHSA-94jr-7pqp-xhcq
security-advisories@github.com
Exploit
Vendor Advisory
🔗
https://github.com/tektoncd/pipeline/security/advisories/GHSA-94jr-7pqp-xhcq
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Exploit
Vendor Advisory
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
linuxfoundation:tekton_pipelines