Incorrect authorization in the issuer resolution logic in AWS Private CA Connector for Kubernetes…

Why it is Amber

• CVSS 8.5 high
• On your watchlist: kubernetes

References

• https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-156-aws/
• https://github.com/cert-manager/aws-privateca-issuer/releases/tag/v1.10.1
• https://github.com/cert-manager/aws-privateca-issuer/security/advisories/GHSA-hjrh-q6pg-mh82

Original description

Incorrect authorization in the issuer resolution logic in AWS Private CA Connector for Kubernetes (aws-privateca-issuer) before v1.10.1 might allow an authenticated remote user to obtain certificates, including subordinate CA certificates, signed by a cluster-scoped AWS Private CA issuer that their approval policy does not authorize. To remediate this issue, users should upgrade aws-privateca-issuer to version v1.10.1 or the AWS Private CA Connector for Kubernetes EKS add-on to version v1.10.1-eksbuild.1, and update any certificate requests, Certificate resources, or Ingress annotations whose issuerRef.kind is missing, incorrect, or does not match the referenced issuer, since v1.10.1 requires issuerRef.kind to be exactly AWSPCAIssuer or AWSPCAClusterIssuer and to match the issuer it references.