CVE-2026-5412: Juju: CloudSpec method leaking cloud credentials

Should you act?

Critical, preconditions apply

Severe if exploited, but exploitation needs conditions that may not apply to you. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 0.5%, percentile 41: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.5% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 41% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Needs an account (low (any account)). Exposure depends on who can log in.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes github.com/juju/juju (Go) < 0.0.0-20260408003526-d395054dc2c3, fixed in 0.0.0-20260408003526-d395054dc2c3. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

In Juju versions prior to 2.9.57 and 3.6.21, an authorization issue exists in the Controller facade. An authenticated user can call the CloudSpec API method to extract the cloud credentials used to bootstrap the controller. This allows a low-privileged user to access sensitive credentials. This issue is resolved in Juju versions 2.9.57 and 3.6.21.

From the GitHub advisory

Impact

If a user has login permission to a controller and knows the controller model UUID, they can call the CloudSpec method on the Controller facade and get cloud credentials used to bootstrap the controller.

The CloudSpec API is called by workers running in the controller to maintain connection to the cloud - this aspect is not the issue. The API is also called by the CLI when killing (force destroying a controller with juju kill-controller). This is the problematic aspect. The API is exposed to any client caller where that client has nothing more than logon permission on the controller. What should happen is that getting access to the credential should be limited to those client connections where the authenticated user has superuser or model admin permission.

This affect 2.9, 3.6, 4.0.6 (snap from 4.0/edge channel).

The fix will allow non-confidential, public information like cloud endpoint etc to be read, but only controller superusers or model admins will be able to see the credential details.

Weakness type: CWE-285.

Product: github.com/juju/juju (Go) · Assigned by: canonical · Published: 2026-04-10

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: low (any account)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: changed (can affect other components)

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.48% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 41.

Timeline

• 2026-04-10 — CVE record last updated
• 2026-04-10 — CVE record published by canonical
• 2026-04-10 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-w5fq-8965-c969 published (critical)

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vendor and project advisories, patches

1. CloudSpec method leaking cloud credentials github.com
2. github.com github.com
3. github.com github.com

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-w5fq-8965-c969 github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-5412 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-5412 nvd.nist.gov

Critical Go advisories · Today’s Security Digest