A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx where a user that can create or update ingress objects can use the custom snippets feature to obtain all secrets in the cluster. This vulnerability has been classified as high severity due to its potential impact on confidentiality.
The CVSS score for this vulnerability is 7.6, indicating a high threat level. The vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the ingress-nginx component, posing a significant risk to organizations utilizing this technology.
Risk to organizations includes unauthorized access to sensitive secrets, which can lead to further exploitation of the cluster. Organizations should prioritize patching immediately to mitigate this vulnerability.
Currently, there is no known public exploit and it is not actively exploited in the wild, but organizations must remain vigilant and apply necessary patches as soon as they are available.
Vulnerability Details
This vulnerability allows a user with permissions to create or update ingress objects to abuse the custom snippets feature, leading to potential exposure of all secrets stored in the cluster. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.6, classified as high severity.
Affected products include ingress-nginx and NetApp Trident. The vulnerability was published on October 29, 2021. It is categorized under CWE-20, which relates to improper input validation.
Technical Analysis
The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the custom snippets feature of ingress-nginx, which does not sufficiently validate user input. Attackers may leverage this flaw over a network with low attack complexity and only low privileges required, meaning that unauthenticated users can potentially exploit the vulnerability.
The attack vector is network-based, requiring no user interaction, which increases the risk. The impact on confidentiality is high, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information, while integrity and availability impacts are low.
Risk & Impact Analysis
Real-world deployment risk is significant due to the nature of the vulnerability, which allows access to sensitive secrets that could lead to further exploitation of the Kubernetes environment. Organizations utilizing ingress-nginx must be especially cautious, as the blast radius is extensive if secrets are compromised.
The urgency for remediation is high given the CVSS score and the potential impact this vulnerability poses to organizational security. Organizations should schedule remediation and ensure that all affected components are updated promptly.
Exploitation Status
Signal | Status |
|---|---|
Known Exploit | No |
Public PoC | No |
Actively Exploited | No |
Ransomware Use | No |
Affected Versions
The vulnerability affects all versions of ingress-nginx prior to 0.49.1, as well as version 1.0.0. Additionally, NetApp's Trident is also affected. Organizations should ensure their installations are updated to the latest patched versions.
Mitigation & Remediation
Organizations should apply available patches to ingress-nginx and Trident immediately. If a patch is not available, consider implementing configuration hardening measures to limit access to the custom snippets feature.
For more comprehensive testing and validation of security posture, organizations may engage in penetration testing to identify any additional vulnerabilities.
Detection Guidance
Organizations should monitor logs for unauthorized access attempts to ingress objects and track any unusual activity related to secret retrieval. Behavioral anomalies should also be investigated promptly.
AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight
The long-term significance of this vulnerability highlights the need for stringent input validation in cloud-native applications. Security teams must recognize patterns of misconfiguration that lead to vulnerabilities like these.
Lessons learned from this incident can guide organizations in strengthening their security posture. For more on enhancing security in Kubernetes, refer to our Kubernetes security best practices guide.
For organizations looking for strategic assessments, our penetration testing methodology article provides insights into effective approaches.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
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