What is CVE-2026-50516?

CVE-2026-50516 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service, classified under Missing Authentication for Critical Function. CVSS score: 9.4/10. Published 2026-08-11.

How severe is CVE-2026-50516?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.4 out of 10.

Auth bypass in Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service

CVE-2026-50516

Missing authentication for critical function in Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.

Vulnerability class: Broken Authentication

Published 2026-08-11 · last modified 2026-08-12.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.4 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.008 (55.8th percentile), scored 2026-09-26.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 56th percentile — 55.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.008 · newest: 0.008 · change: -0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-306 — Missing Authentication for Critical Function

References

Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (vendor-advisory, patch, Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-50516?: CVE-2026-50516 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service, classified under Missing Authentication for Critical Function. CVSS score: 9.4/10. Published 2026-08-11.
How severe is CVE-2026-50516?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.4 out of 10.