CVE-2019-15789Public exploit

Root escalation via unrestricted Kubernetes administrator access

Published Apr 8, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Privilege escalation in Canonical MicroK8s before 1.15.3 allows local users to obtain host root access through Kubernetes. The bundled microk8s.kubectl client exposed administrator-authenticated cluster access to any local account, allowing creation of a pod that mounted the host root filesystem. Local account access is required; the demonstrated path writes /etc/sudoers through the mounted host filesystem, while privileged containers are disabled by default unless Istio is installed.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.50%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Canonical MicroK8s before 1.15.3 allows local users to obtain host root access through Kubernetes. The bundled microk8s.kubectl client exposed administrator-authenticated cluster access to any local account, allowing creation of a pod that mounted the host root filesystem. Local account access is required; the demonstrated path writes /etc/sudoers through the mounted host filesystem, while privileged containers are disabled by default unless Istio is installed.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-15789
Published
Apr 8, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Canonical
Product
MicroK8s
Classifications
CWE-269, T1611, T1610
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 8, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1.15 <1.15.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Canonical · MicroK8sversion=1.15 <1.15.3

Published CVSS scores

8.8Canonical Ltd.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1611Escape to Host
T1610Deploy Container

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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