CVE-2020-1704

Privilege escalation via writable container password file

Published Feb 17, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Incorrect privilege assignment in Red Hat Kiali for OpenShift Service Mesh Operator before 1.0.8 allows local users to escalate privileges. The affected operator container changes /etc/passwd permissions so non-root users can rewrite the file and add a privileged account. Exploitation requires access inside the running container, and OpenShift's default seccomp policy blocks the required SETUID and SETGID calls in unprivileged containers.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect privilege assignment in Red Hat Kiali for OpenShift Service Mesh Operator before 1.0.8 allows local users to escalate privileges. The affected operator container changes /etc/passwd permissions so non-root users can rewrite the file and add a privileged account. Exploitation requires access inside the running container, and OpenShift's default seccomp policy blocks the required SETUID and SETGID calls in unprivileged containers.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-1704
Published
Feb 17, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Red Hat
Product
Kiali for OpenShift Service Mesh Operator
Classifications
CWE-732, CWE-266, T1098
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 17, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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=All maistra versions before 1.0.8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Red Hat · Kiali for OpenShift Service Mesh Operatorversion=All maistra versions before 1.0.8

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.0Red Hat, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
CWE-266Incorrect Privilege Assignment
T1098Account Manipulation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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