---
id: "CVE-2026-123270"
page: "https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-123270"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-123270"]
title: "Redpanda Connect: unauthenticated pipeline upload gives remote code execution"
severity: "critical"
cvss: 9.8
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "runtime"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["redpanda-connect", "runtime", "self-hosted", "streams-mode"]
not_affected_if: ["default-config", "firewalled-port-4195"]
published_at: "2026-11-09T18:17:25+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-09T18:27:55+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-09T18:29:12+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-123270", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-09T18:27:55+00:00"}]
exploit_sources: []
---

# Redpanda Connect: unauthenticated pipeline upload gives remote code execution

Link for people: https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-123270 (this .md is for agents)

Redpanda Connect in streams mode exposes a management HTTP API on port 4195 with no authentication by default. An unauthenticated attacker who can reach that port can post a pipeline that runs commands on the host as the service account.

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

## How to check

- Check the Redpanda Connect version with `redpanda-connect --version` or the image tag; versions 4.39 to 4.110 are affected.
- Check whether the service runs in streams mode and listens on TCP `4195` on `0.0.0.0`.
- Check whether the `--bind-http` flag is set on v4.111 or later.

## Fix

- Versions 4.111 and later do not expose the API by default; the sources do not name a fixed version for the 4.39 to 4.110 range.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-09T18:27:55+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-123270

## From the sources

Redpanda Connect versions 4.39 to 4.110 contain a missing authentication vulnerability that enables unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE). In streams mode, the management HTTP API is exposed on `0.0.0.0:4195`, but authentication is disabled by default and there is no authentication gate protecting the stream CRUD routes. An unauthenticated attacker with network access to TCP/4195 can `POST` a malicious pipeline definition to `/streams/{id}` that includes code-executing processors such as `command`, `subprocess`, `ffi`, or unsafe `sql_raw`, thereby achieving arbitrary RCE on the host with the permissions of the Redpanda Connect service account. Because pipelines can also return command output in-band via HTTP, this vulnerability enables full host compromise, credential theft, and data exfiltration with no user interaction or credentials required.  

Starting with v4.111, the API endpoint was reconfigured as opt-in, so this and later versions are no longer vulnerable by default. However, RCE remains achievable on v4.111 and later if the management API is manually enabled via the `--bind-http` flag.

---

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