cert-manager up to 1.19.5/1.20.2 ACME solver certificate validation

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in cert-manager up to 1.19.5/1.20.2 and classified as problematic. The impacted element is an unknown function of the component ACME. Such manipulation of the argument solver leads to certificate validation. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2026-62290. The attack may be performed from remote. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in cert-manager up to 1.19.5/1.20.2. It has been rated as problematic. Affected by this issue is an unknown code of the component ACME. The manipulation of the argument solver with an unknown input leads to a certificate validation vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-295. The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate. Impacted is integrity. CVE summarizes:

cert-manager adds certificates and certificate issuers as resource types in Kubernetes clusters, and simplifies the process of obtaining, renewing and using those certificates. From 1.18.0 until 1.19.6 and 1.20.3, Challenge resources under acme.cert-manager.io can be created directly by namespace users without admission validation tying the Challenge to an Order, owner reference, or Issuer-selected solver, allowing attacker-controlled Challenge.spec.solver values referencing a ClusterIssuer to bypass DNS01 solver selectors such as dnsZones, dnsNames, and matchLabels and cause cert-manager to use ClusterIssuer DNS credentials for attacker-selected provider settings and DNS names, including disclosure of X-Api-User and X-Api-Key headers for acme-dns. This issue is fixed in versions 1.19.6 and 1.20.3.

The advisory is shared for download at github.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-62290 since 07/13/2026. The exploitation is known to be difficult. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1587.003.

Upgrading to version 1.19.6 or 1.20.3 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Name

• cert-manager

Version

• 1.19.0
• 1.19.1
• 1.19.2
• 1.19.3
• 1.19.4
• 1.19.5
• 1.20.0
• 1.20.1
• 1.20.2

Website

• Product: https://github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/

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