Answer in brief
CVE-2026-61549 records a High severity (CVSS 9.0) vulnerability in Woodpecker: Privilege escalation via unrestricted serviceAccountName in the Kubernetes backend. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps woodpecker-ci/woodpecker (generic), github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker (go), go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2 (go), go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3 (go). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 9.0. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps woodpecker-ci/woodpecker (generic), github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker (go), go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2 (go), go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3 (go). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| woodpecker-ci/woodpeckergeneric | >=1.0.0 <3.16.0 | 3.16.0 |
| github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpeckergo | >=1.0.0,<=1.0.4 | Not reported |
| go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v2go | <=2.8.3 | Not reported |
| go.woodpecker-ci.org/woodpecker/v3go | <3.16.0 | 3.16.0 |
Published upstream
Sep 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Sep 30, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Jul 15, 2026
Woodpecker is a CI/CD engine. From 1.0.0 until 3.16.0, pipeline/backend/kubernetes/backend_options.go defines backend_options.kubernetes.serviceAccountName, and the Kubernetes backend in pipeline/backend/kubernetes/pod.go copies that pipeline-step value directly into the pod specification without administrator authorization. Any user with Push permission on a connected repository can therefore run pipeline pods under an arbitrary ServiceAccount in the pipeline namespace and inherit that account's RBAC permissions. When a privileged ServiceAccount is reachable, the attacker can exfiltrate secrets such as database credentials, API keys, and TLS certificates and may take over the cluster. This issue is fixed in version 3.16.0.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.