---
id: "CVE-2026-102340"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-102340"]
title: "Telepresence: unauthenticated gRPC API lets pods intercept traffic and read secrets"
severity: "high"
cvss: 8.5
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["infrastructure", "kubernetes", "openshift", "self-hosted", "telepresence"]
not_affected_if: ["no-telepresence-deployed", "version-2.31.0-or-later"]
published_at: "2026-11-04T21:17:40+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-04T21:49:17+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-04T21:50:41+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-102340", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-04T21:49:17+00:00"}]
exploit_sources: []
---

# Telepresence: unauthenticated gRPC API lets pods intercept traffic and read secrets

Telepresence's Traffic Manager gRPC API on port 8081 accepts callers without authentication and does not check Kubernetes RBAC before creating intercepts. An attacker with network access to the manager in any managed namespace can receive intercepted traffic and read the victim pod's environment, including secrets, tokens and API keys.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Check the installed Telepresence version with `telepresence version` and compare it to the fixed release.
- Confirm whether the Traffic Manager is deployed cluster-wide with `kubectl get deploy traffic-manager -A`.
- Check whether port 8081 on the Traffic Manager is reachable from ordinary pods on the cluster network.

## Fix

- Telepresence: upgrade to `2.31.0` or later.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-04T21:49:17+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-102340

## Documents

- [advisory] Vendor advisory: github.com https://github.com/telepresenceio/telepresence/security/advisories/GHSA-j8j4-rw65-56r6
- [fix] Patch: github.com https://github.com/telepresenceio/telepresence/commit/04ec3464fe8878fdc96420cdc8036edefa0dc9ae
- [fix] Patch: github.com https://github.com/telepresenceio/telepresence/commit/36458b65a010d2b316af48cd90e193ba190785d9
- [fix] Patch: github.com https://github.com/telepresenceio/telepresence/commit/6871235b674a6e843908d09696354c4b0f91578c
- [fix] Release notes: github.com https://github.com/telepresenceio/telepresence/releases/tag/v2.31.0

## From the sources

Telepresence enables local development against a remote Kubernetes or OpenShift cluster. Prior to 2.31.0, the Traffic Manager gRPC API on port 8081 accepts unauthenticated cluster-network callers, ArriveAsClient stores a caller-supplied Namespace using only the ManagesNamespace manager watchlist check, and CreateIntercept can target any managed namespace without checking the session's Kubernetes RBAC. An attacker operating any pod with network access to the manager can register in an arbitrary managed namespace, create service intercepts, receive intercepted traffic, and obtain the victim pod's complete container environment, including secrets, tokens, and API keys. The default cluster-wide deployment manages all namespaces. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.31.0.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_