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8.7
HIGH CVSS 4.0
CVE-2025-62159
External Secrets Operator's BeyondTrust Provider has Insecure Secret Retrieval
Description

External Secrets Operator reads information from a third-party service and automatically injects the values as Kubernetes Secrets. A vulnerability was discovered in the BeyondTrust provider implementation for External Secrets Operator versions 0.10.1 through 0.19.2. The provider previously retrieved Kubernetes secrets directly, without validating the namespace context or the type of secret store. This allowed unauthorized cross-namespace secret access, violating security boundaries and potentially exposing sensitive credentials. In version 0.20.0, the provider code was updated to use the `resolvers.SecretKeyRef` utility, which enforces namespace validation and only allows cross-namespace access for `ClusterSecretStore` types. This ensures secrets are only retrieved from the correct namespace, mitigating the risk of unauthorized access. All users should upgrade to the latest version containing this fix. As a workaround, use a policy engine such as Kyverno or OPA to prevent using BeyondTrust provider and/or validate the `(Cluster)SecretStore` and ensure the namespace may only be set when using a `ClusterSecretStore`.

INFO

Published Date :

Oct. 10, 2025, 11:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

Oct. 14, 2025, 7:36 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !

Source :

[email protected]
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2025-62159 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 External-secrets external_secrets_operator
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update External Secrets Operator to version 0.20.0 or later to fix authorization bypass.
  • Upgrade External Secrets Operator to the latest version.
  • Implement policy to restrict provider usage.
  • Validate secret store namespace configurations.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2025-62159.

URL Resource
https://github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets/security/advisories/GHSA-vf79-2pjx-phpp
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-62159 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-62159 weaknesses.

CAPEC-19: Embedding Scripts within Scripts Embedding Scripts within Scripts CAPEC-441: Malicious Logic Insertion Malicious Logic Insertion CAPEC-478: Modification of Windows Service Configuration Modification of Windows Service Configuration CAPEC-479: Malicious Root Certificate Malicious Root Certificate CAPEC-502: Intent Spoof Intent Spoof CAPEC-503: WebView Exposure WebView Exposure CAPEC-536: Data Injected During Configuration Data Injected During Configuration CAPEC-546: Incomplete Data Deletion in a Multi-Tenant Environment Incomplete Data Deletion in a Multi-Tenant Environment CAPEC-550: Install New Service Install New Service CAPEC-551: Modify Existing Service Modify Existing Service CAPEC-552: Install Rootkit Install Rootkit CAPEC-556: Replace File Extension Handlers Replace File Extension Handlers CAPEC-558: Replace Trusted Executable Replace Trusted Executable CAPEC-562: Modify Shared File Modify Shared File CAPEC-563: Add Malicious File to Shared Webroot Add Malicious File to Shared Webroot CAPEC-564: Run Software at Logon Run Software at Logon CAPEC-578: Disable Security Software Disable Security Software

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2025-62159 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2025-62159 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Oct. 10, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description External Secrets Operator reads information from a third-party service and automatically injects the values as Kubernetes Secrets. A vulnerability was discovered in the BeyondTrust provider implementation for External Secrets Operator versions 0.10.1 through 0.19.2. The provider previously retrieved Kubernetes secrets directly, without validating the namespace context or the type of secret store. This allowed unauthorized cross-namespace secret access, violating security boundaries and potentially exposing sensitive credentials. In version 0.20.0, the provider code was updated to use the `resolvers.SecretKeyRef` utility, which enforces namespace validation and only allows cross-namespace access for `ClusterSecretStore` types. This ensures secrets are only retrieved from the correct namespace, mitigating the risk of unauthorized access. All users should upgrade to the latest version containing this fix. As a workaround, use a policy engine such as Kyverno or OPA to prevent using BeyondTrust provider and/or validate the `(Cluster)SecretStore` and ensure the namespace may only be set when using a `ClusterSecretStore`.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CWE CWE-284
    Added Reference https://github.com/external-secrets/external-secrets/security/advisories/GHSA-vf79-2pjx-phpp
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Scoring Details
Base CVSS Score: 8.7
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Attack Requirements
Privileges Required
User Interaction
VS Confidentiality
VS Integrity
VS Availability
SS Confidentiality
SS Integrity
SS Availability