CVE-2026-39961: Aiven Operator allows you to provision and manage Aiven Services from your Kubernetes cluster

Routine

MEDIUM 6.8WATCHLISTUPGRADE

CVE-2026-39961 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 6.8) affecting aiven operator. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Aiven Operator allows you to provision and manage Aiven Services from your Kubernetes cluster. From 0.31.0 to before 0.37.0, a developer with create permission on ClickhouseUser CRDs in their own namespace can exfiltrate secrets from any other namespace — production database credentials, API keys, service tokens — with a single kubectl apply. The operator reads the victim's secret using its ClusterRole and writes the password into a new secret in

Why this priority

On your watchlist

A fixed release or distro patch exists.

Risk facts

CVSS score	6.8 (Medium)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	High
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	0.4% (top 67%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-269, CWE-441
Published	2026-04-09
Last modified	2026-10-26

Publisher (CNA): GitHub, Inc. · Vendor: aiven

Last updated 2026-10-26 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2026-04-09 18:17 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-10-26 21:10 UTCUpdated Record last modified

aiven aiven operator UPGRADE

Affected: >= 0.31.0 and < 0.37.0

Fixed in: 0.37.0

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 0.31.0

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy aiven-operator || rpm -q aiven-operator || aiven-operator --version

2. UPGRADE to 0.37.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade aiven-operator

2. UPGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

sudo dnf upgrade aiven-operator

Note

Distros often backport fixes without changing the version number. Confirm with the distro advisory or changelog.

3. If no update is available yet, DOWNGRADE to a release before 0.31.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison aiven-operator sudo apt install aiven-operator=<VERSION_BEFORE_0.31.0> sudo apt-mark hold aiven-operator

3. If no update is available yet, DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list aiven-operator sudo dnf downgrade aiven-operator-<VERSION_BEFORE_0.31.0> sudo dnf versionlock add aiven-operator

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2026-39961?

aiven operator: upgrade to 0.37.0. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2026-39961 being exploited?

CVE-2026-39961 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2026-39961 affect?

CVE-2026-39961 affects aiven operator. Severity is medium (CVSS 6.8). Aiven Operator allows you to provision and manage Aiven Services from your Kubernetes cluster. From 0.31.0 to before 0.37.0, a developer with create permission on ClickhouseUser CRDs in their own namespace can exfiltrate secrets from any ot

How urgent is CVE-2026-39961?

Priority 37/100. On your watchlist

Software pages

Kubernetes vulnerabilities

References

← Back to latest CVEs