Admission policy bypass via mutated old Node state
Published Sep 6, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024
Authorization bypass in Kubernetes kube-apiserver allows remote authenticated users to evade Node update admission policy. ValidateNodeUpdate mutates the old Node object while comparing permitted field changes; the altered object is then sent as oldObject to validating admission webhooks, hiding original values. Exploitation requires high-privilege Node update rights and a webhook that denies updates based on those old values; successful bypass permits unauthorized cluster changes.
Summary
What happened
Authorization bypass in Kubernetes kube-apiserver allows remote authenticated users to evade Node update admission policy. ValidateNodeUpdate mutates the old Node object while comparing permitted field changes; the altered object is then sent as oldObject to validating admission webhooks, hiding original values. Exploitation requires high-privilege Node update rights and a webhook that denies updates based on those old values; successful bypass permits unauthorized cluster changes.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-25735
- Published
- Sep 6, 2021
- Updated
- Sep 16, 2024
- Vendor
- Kubernetes
- Product
- Kubernetes
- Classifications
- CWE-372, T1562.001
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 6, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=1.18.17
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=1.19.9
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=1.20.5
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Sysdig validating admission webhook bypass demonstrationproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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