CVE-2026-52742 in GoCD
Summary
by MITRE • 09/21/2026
GoCD is a continuous deliver server. From 12.3.1 until 26.1.0, legacy routes under /go/admin/restful/* expose historical full server configuration to pipeline group administrators instead of restricting responses to configuration for groups they administer. The disclosed configuration can include agent auto-registration keys, webhook invocation keys, encrypted material credentials, and GoCD administrator lists. A malicious pipeline group administrator can use disclosed agent registration data to connect a rogue compatible agent, which can create a higher-complexity path to receiving work or overwriting artifacts associated with other groups. Normal authenticated users are not affected, the endpoint does not modify server configuration, and deployments that restrict pipeline editing to full administrators or configuration repositories are not affected. This issue is fixed in version 26.1.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/21/2026
The vulnerability identified within GoCD versions ranging from 12.3.1 through 26.1.0 represents a critical authorization failure affecting the administrative interface of the continuous delivery server. Specifically, legacy RESTful endpoints located under the path /go/admin/restful/* were improperly configured to expose comprehensive server configuration data rather than restricting responses to only those configurations relevant to the requesting user's assigned pipeline groups. This architectural flaw allows any authenticated user possessing the role of a pipeline group administrator to retrieve sensitive information that should be reserved for full system administrators, thereby violating the principle of least privilege and enabling unauthorized access to privileged resources.
The technical nature of this flaw is classified as an insecure direct object reference or broken access control issue, where the server fails to verify whether the requesting user has sufficient privileges to view specific configuration data based on their role scope. Instead of filtering the response payload according to the administrator's permissions, the endpoint returns a full dump of the GoCD server configuration. This includes highly sensitive artifacts such as agent auto-registration keys, webhook invocation secrets, encrypted material credentials used for secure storage access, and lists of users designated with administrative privileges. The presence of these elements in an unfiltered response creates significant security risks by exposing the underlying infrastructure's authentication mechanisms and credential stores to lower-privileged actors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to the potential for lateral movement within the CI/CD environment. A malicious pipeline group administrator can exploit the disclosed agent auto-registration keys to register unauthorized, rogue agents that are compatible with the GoCD server architecture. Once registered, these rogue agents can be manipulated to accept workloads intended for other groups or to overwrite artifacts associated with legitimate pipelines. This capability allows an attacker to disrupt continuous delivery processes, inject malicious code into build outputs, or steal sensitive data processed during builds. Although normal authenticated users without administrative roles are unaffected and the endpoint does not directly modify server configuration, the ability to introduce rogue agents provides a high-complexity but effective path for achieving persistent access and compromising the integrity of the software supply chain.
From an industry standards perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-269, which covers Improper Privilege Management, as it involves granting users more permissions than necessary for their role. It also relates to CWE-862, Missing Authorization, because the system fails to enforce access controls on sensitive configuration data. In terms of attack vectors and tactics, this scenario maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1078, Valid Accounts, specifically where an attacker uses legitimate credentials with elevated privileges that were improperly granted or exposed. The exploitation path further resembles aspects of supply chain attacks by leveraging the CI/CD pipeline's trust in registered agents to compromise downstream artifacts and deployments.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate remediation through software updates. Organizations running GoCD versions prior to 26.1.0 should upgrade to version 26.1.0 or later, where this authorization flaw has been resolved by properly scoping the RESTful responses to match user permissions. In environments where upgrading is not immediately feasible, administrators can implement network-level controls such as firewall rules or reverse proxy configurations to restrict access to the /go/admin/restful/* endpoints exclusively from trusted internal management networks and full administrator IP addresses. Additionally, rotating all exposed credentials including agent registration keys and webhook secrets is essential to neutralize any potential exploitation that may have occurred during the window of vulnerability. Regular audits of pipeline group assignments should also be conducted to ensure that administrative privileges are granted only to users who strictly require them for their operational duties.