{"id":"CVE-2020-8828","aliases":["BIT-argo-cd-2020-8828","EUVD-2021-1474","GHSA-h8jc-jmrf-9h8f"],"status":"published","title":"Argo CD Insecure default administrative password","description":"As of v1.5.0, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. For insiders with access to the cluster or logs, this issue could be abused for privilege escalation, as Argo has privileged roles. A malicious insider is the most realistic threat, but pod names are not meant to be kept secret and could wind up just about anywhere.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"primary","from":"nvd"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-10","score":0.018,"percentile":0.78668,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-1188","CWE-287"],"published":"2020-04-08T19:49:14Z","modified":"2026-10-24T10:30:27Z","fixes":[{"ecosystem":"Bitnami","package":"argo-cd","fixed_in":["1.5.0"],"sources":["osv"]}],"affected":[{"source":"ghsa","ecosystem":"Go","package":"github.com/argoproj/argo-cd","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"last_affected":"1.8.0"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Bitnami","package":"argo-cd","ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"1.5.0"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"Go","package":"github.com/argoproj/argo-cd","ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"last_affected":"1.8.0"}]}]}],"products":[{"vendor":"argoproj","product":"argo_cd"}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/argoproj/argo/releases","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Third Party Advisory","web","advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.soluble.ai/blog/argo-cves-2020","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory","web","evidence"]},{"url":"https://argoproj.github.io/argo-cd/security_considerations/","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Vendor Advisory","web","advisory"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8828","tags":["advisory"]},{"url":"https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/security_considerations/#cve-2020-8828-insecure-default-administrative-password","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/blob/129cf5370f9e2c6f99c9a5515099250a7ba42099/docs/security_considerations.md#cve-2020-8828---insecure-default-administrative-password","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://argoproj.github.io/argo-cd/security_considerations","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-h8jc-jmrf-9h8f"},{"url":"https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd","tags":["package"]}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2020-8828","description":"As of v1.5.0, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. For insiders with access to the cluster or logs, this issue could be abused for privilege escalation, as Argo has privileged roles. A malicious insider is the most realistic threat, but pod names are not meant to be kept secret and could wind up just about anywhere.","status":"published","published":"2020-04-08T19:49:14Z","modified":"2024-08-04T10:12:10.971Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:35:51.206854Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2021-1474","description":"As of v1.5.0, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. For insiders with access to the cluster or logs, this issue could be abused for privilege escalation, as Argo has privileged roles. A malicious insider is the most realistic threat, but pod names are not meant to be kept secret and could wind up just about anywhere.","status":"published","published":"2020-04-08T19:49:14Z","modified":"2024-08-04T10:12:10Z","updated_at":"2026-11-03T03:07:55.71159Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-h8jc-jmrf-9h8f","title":"Argo CD Insecure default administrative password","description":"In Argo CD versions 1.8.0 and prior, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. For insiders with access to the cluster or logs, this issue could be abused for privilege escalation, as Argo has privileged roles. A malicious insider is the most realistic threat, but pod names are not meant to be kept secret and could wind up just about anywhere.\n\n#### Workaround:\n\nThe recommended mitigation as described in the user documentation is to use SSO integration. The default admin password should only be used for initial configuration and then [disabled](https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/operator-manual/user-management/#disable-admin-user) or at least changed to a more secure password.","status":"published","published":"2021-07-26T21:19:27Z","modified":"2024-08-07T19:44:17Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-287","CWE-1188"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:37:58.427757Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2020-8828","description":"As of v1.5.0, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. For insiders with access to the cluster or logs, this issue could be abused for privilege escalation, as Argo has privileged roles. A malicious insider is the most realistic threat, but pod names are not meant to be kept secret and could wind up just about anywhere.","status":"published","published":"2020-04-08T20:15:14.763Z","modified":"2026-06-17T03:27:01.04Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"primary"},{"version":"2.0","score":6.5,"vector":"AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P","level":"medium","assessor":"primary"}],"cwes":["CWE-287","CWE-1188"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:05:57.678762Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"CVE-2020-8828","description":"As of v1.5.0, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. For insiders with access to the cluster or logs, this issue could be abused for privilege escalation, as Argo has privileged roles. A malicious insider is the most realistic threat, but pod names are not meant to be kept secret and could wind up just about anywhere.","status":"published","published":"2020-04-08T20:15:14.763Z","modified":"2026-10-24T10:30:27.138316373Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:44:17.663289Z"},{"id":"GHSA-h8jc-jmrf-9h8f","title":"Argo CD Insecure default administrative password","description":"In Argo CD versions 1.8.0 and prior, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. For insiders with access to the cluster or logs, this issue could be abused for privilege escalation, as Argo has privileged roles. A malicious insider is the most realistic threat, but pod names are not meant to be kept secret and could wind up just about anywhere.\n\n#### Workaround:\n\nThe recommended mitigation as described in the user documentation is to use SSO integration. The default admin password should only be used for initial configuration and then [disabled](https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/operator-manual/user-management/#disable-admin-user) or at least changed to a more secure password.","status":"published","published":"2021-07-26T21:19:27Z","modified":"2024-08-07T19:44:16Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-1188","CWE-287"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:48.920784Z"},{"id":"BIT-argo-cd-2020-8828","description":"As of v1.5.0, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. For insiders with access to the cluster or logs, this issue could be abused for privilege escalation, as Argo has privileged roles. A malicious insider is the most realistic threat, but pod names are not meant to be kept secret and could wind up just about anywhere.","status":"published","published":"2024-03-06T10:51:46.787Z","modified":"2024-03-06T11:25:28.861Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:28:28.267217Z"}]}}