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Kestra BasicAuth SHA-512 Password Hashing Enables Offline Password Cracking

IdentifiersCVE-2026-55069CWE-916

CVE-2026-55069 affects the BasicAuth authentication component of the Kestra open-source workflow orchestration platform in versions prior to 1.3.24. The issue is that BasicAuth passwords are stored as SHA-512 hashes, which are too computationally fast for password storage and therefore unsuitable for resisting offline guessing attacks. If an attacker obtains read access to Kestra's PostgreSQL database, they can extract the stored password hashes and perform offline brute-force or dictionary attacks to recover administrator credentials. In Kubernetes deployments, recovery of an administrator password can be chained into further compromise of the environment, including access to the cluster ServiceAccount token and Kubernetes Secrets.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows offline recovery of Kestra administrator credentials from database-stored password hashes. This can lead to unauthorized administrative access to the Kestra platform. In Kubernetes deployments, the impact is more severe: an attacker who recovers the administrator password may be able to read the cluster ServiceAccount token and Kubernetes Secrets, resulting in vertical privilege escalation and broader compromise of the orchestration environment.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, minimize exposure by strictly limiting read access to the PostgreSQL database, enforcing strong unique administrator passwords to increase resistance to offline cracking, and monitoring for unauthorized database access. In Kubernetes environments, reduce the privileges available to Kestra-associated ServiceAccounts, limit secret access through RBAC, and review Secrets and ServiceAccount usage for signs of abuse. These measures reduce exploitability but do not fully remediate the underlying weakness.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade Kestra to version 1.3.24 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed. After upgrading, rotate administrator credentials that may have been exposed to offline cracking. Restrict and audit access to the PostgreSQL database to reduce the likelihood of hash extraction. In Kubernetes deployments, review and rotate exposed ServiceAccount tokens and sensitive Kubernetes Secrets as appropriate, and assess whether privilege escalation or follow-on access occurred.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

6 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

6 SOURCESView more in app
What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity5

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.

EXTERNAL REFERENCES
MITRE CVE
cve.org · CVE-2026-55069
NVD
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55069
MITRE CWE · CWE-916
cwe.mitre.org