CVE-2026-53576: Kestra: Unauthenticated RCE via /configs path-suffix auth-filter bypass

Is it exploited?

Reported, not confirmed by CISA. VulnCheck KEV lists it as exploited in the wild. CISA has not added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of 29 Oct 2026.

VulnCheck KEV lists it since 1 Aug 2026. VulnCheck's own honeypots also recorded exploitation attempts.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

3.3%

EPSS score, percentile 88.5 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record lists exploitation as poc.

How severe?

10.0 Critical

CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Which versions are affected?

Affected

• < 1.0.45
• >= 1.1.0, < 1.3.21

Versions by product

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; VulnCheck KEV, as of 30 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 30 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

Kestra: Unauthenticated RCE via /configs path-suffix auth-filter bypass

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. 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.

Source: CVE List, as of 30 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

Advisories and patches

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

This summary is based on the CVE record as of 30 Oct 2026. Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

Source: CVE List, as of 30 Oct 2026. About the data.

Timeline