Description
A flaw was found in odh-dashboard. An authenticated user of the dashboard can exploit a vulnerability related to how RoleBindings are created. The system does not properly validate the `roleRef` field, allowing a user to specify an arbitrary role, including highly privileged ones like `cluster-admin`. This can lead to privilege escalation, where an attacker gains unauthorized elevated access within their namespace and potentially persistent control over the system.
Published: 2026-08-10
Score: 8.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability in the OpenShift AI dashboard allows an authenticated user to create RoleBindings without validating the roleRef field. By specifying an arbitrary role, attackers can grant themselves or others highly privileged roles such as cluster-admin, resulting in unauthorized elevated access within their namespace and potentially persistent control over the cluster. This flaw is a form of privilege escalation that can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of cluster resources.

Affected Systems

The affected product is Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI), as identified by the CNA. The flaw is present in all released versions of the odh-dashboard component bundled with RHOAI; no version exclusions are specified in the advisory.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 8.8 categorizes this issue as high severity, indicating serious risk if mitigated. EPSS score of 0.00361 indicates a very low exploitation probability, but that does not diminish the risk posed by unauthorized privileged RoleBinding creation. The flaw is not listed in CISA KEV, yet the high CVSS combined with the privilege escalation capability suggests that attackers can gain persistent control if they possess legitimate dashboard credentials. The likely attack vector requires an authenticated session with the OpenShift AI dashboard, after which the attacker can submit a RoleBinding manifest with an arbitrary roleRef. The success of the exploit depends on the existence of privileged ClusterRoles such as cluster-admin in the cluster.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on August 13, 2026 at 04:40 UTC.

Remediation

Vendor Workaround

To mitigate this issue, restrict access to the OpenShift AI dashboard to only trusted users. Additionally, implement an Open Policy Agent (OPA) or Gatekeeper policy to prevent the creation of RoleBindings that reference privileged ClusterRoles like cluster-admin within user namespaces. Regularly monitor audit logs for any unauthorized RoleBinding creations.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Apply the latest vendor patch for OpenShift AI that validates roleRef when creating RoleBindings
  • Restrict dashboard access to trusted users and enforce least‑privilege authentication
  • Deploy an Open Policy Agent or Gatekeeper policy that blocks creation of RoleBindings referencing privileged ClusterRoles such as cluster‑admin
  • Continuously monitor audit logs for unauthorized RoleBinding creation and investigate any anomalies

Generated by OpenCVE AI on August 13, 2026 at 04:40 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 03:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-284
CWE-285

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 20:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-269

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 19:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai:2.25::el9
cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai:3.4::el9
References

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Red Hat
Red Hat red Hat Openshift Ai (rhoai)
Vendors & Products Red Hat
Red Hat red Hat Openshift Ai (rhoai)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 05:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai:3.3::el9
References

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 threat_severity

Critical

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-284
CWE-285

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in odh-dashboard. An authenticated user of the dashboard can exploit a vulnerability related to how RoleBindings are created. The system does not properly validate the `roleRef` field, allowing a user to specify an arbitrary role, including highly privileged ones like `cluster-admin`. This can lead to privilege escalation, where an attacker gains unauthorized elevated access within their namespace and potentially persistent control over the system.
Title Odh-dashboard: odh-dashboard: confused-deputy privilege escalation via unchecked roleref in rolebinding creation
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat openshift Ai
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openshift_ai
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat openshift Ai
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Subscriptions

Red Hat Red Hat Openshift Ai (rhoai)
Redhat Openshift Ai
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-19T10:21:12.108Z

Reserved: 2026-08-05T13:40:44.621Z

Link: CVE-2026-18950

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-08-11T17:44:29.763Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-08-10T21:17:21.583

Modified: 2026-08-19T11:16:46.767

Link: CVE-2026-18950

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Critical

Publid Date: 2026-08-10T18:54:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-18950 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-08-13T04:45:02Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-269

    Improper Privilege Management