CVE-2025-62156

What it actually does

Path traversal during artifact extraction allows malicious archive entries to write files outside the intended /work/tmp directory into arbitrary container paths such as /etc after filepath.Join and Clean operations without boundary validation.

Why it matters to the business

Attackers could overwrite system files inside workflow containers to gain persistence or escalate privileges, risking disruption of Kubernetes-orchestrated jobs and compromise of dependent pipelines.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker supplies a crafted archive containing traversal or absolute paths as a workflow artifact; the executor extracts it without path validation, writing files into sensitive container locations such as /etc/passwd or /etc/crontab to achieve privilege escalation or persistence.

How to fix it

Upgrade argoproj/argo-workflows to version 3.6.12 or 3.7.3; the fix is present in commit 18ad5138b6bcb2aba04e00b4ec657bc6b8fad8df.

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify the installed Argo Workflows version is 3.6.12 or later, or confirm the executor.go source contains the corrected path validation logic from the referenced commit.

Typical attack path

1. Craft a malicious tar or zip archive with path traversal entries targeting system directories
2. Submit the archive as an input artifact to an Argo Workflow
3. Trigger workflow execution so the executor performs extraction
4. Overwrite or create files in sensitive container locations
5. Leverage the modified files for persistence or privilege escalation within the container

How to detect it

Review workflow executor logs for extraction operations writing outside expected directories; inspect container file system changes in /etc or other system paths immediately after artifact handling.

What your security team should do

• Upgrade all Argo Workflows deployments to 3.6.12 or 3.7.3 without delay
• Audit workflows that accept untrusted artifacts and restrict artifact sources
• Implement container runtime policies that prevent writes to sensitive host paths
• Monitor for new EPSS increases or exploit publications given the stable but non-zero score