Vulnerability in F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller (CVE-2026-94197)
Summary
Vulnerability in F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller (CVE-2026-94197). Confidential information can be exposed externally. Exploitable via ExternalAuth.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
An authentication and authorization bypass vulnerability exists in F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller (NIC) when configured with the ExternalAuth policy or Ingress external authentication. Client-supplied X-Forwarded-Prefix, X-Forwarded-URI, X-Original-URI, and X-Forwarded-Method routing and method headers are forwarded unsanitized into the internal authentication subrequest (handled by the NGINX auth_request directive). As a result, an unauthenticated, remote attacker may spoof request attributes evaluated by the external authentication provider.
Impact:
This vulnerability may allow remote attackers
unauthenticated
access to protected
paths. There is no control plane exposure; this is a data plane issue only.
Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
Source: GitHub Security Advisories (Global) NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-94197 has been found in F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like ExternalAuth over the network to misuse the product.
Confidential information can be exposed externally. CVSS score: 7.5/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller CVE-2026-94197" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-94197 (F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller) — CWE-290 / CVSS v3 7.5
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Attack surface: ExternalAuth
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-290) exists in F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via ExternalAuth without authentication.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller. Attack surface: ExternalAuth.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.5/10). Confidential information can be exposed externally.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
References
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web f5sirt@f5.com
- web github.com