CVE-2022-21701 — MEDIUM (5.0)

Vulnerability Description

Istio is an open platform to connect, manage, and secure microservices. In versions 1.12.0 and 1.12.1 Istio is vulnerable to a privilege escalation attack. Users who have `CREATE` permission for `gateways.gateway.networking.k8s.io` objects can escalate this privilege to create other resources that they may not have access to, such as `Pod`. This vulnerability impacts only an Alpha level feature, the Kubernetes Gateway API. This is not the same as the Istio Gateway type (gateways.networking.istio.io), which is not vulnerable. Users are advised to upgrade to resolve this issue. Users unable to upgrade should implement any of the following which will prevent this vulnerability: Remove the gateways.gateway.networking.k8s.io CustomResourceDefinition, set PILOT_ENABLE_GATEWAY_API_DEPLOYMENT_CONTROLLER=true environment variable in Istiod, or remove CREATE permissions for gateways.gateway.networking.k8s.io objects from untrusted users.

CVSS Score

5.0

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Attack Vector

NETWORK

Attack Complexity

HIGH

Privileges Required

LOW

User Interaction

NONE

Scope

UNCHANGED

Confidentiality

LOW

Integrity

LOW

Availability

LOW

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
Istio	Istio	1.12.0

Related Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-863

References

https://github.com/istio/istio/security/advisories/GHSA-mq8f-9446-c28rThird Party Advisory
https://istio.io/latest/news/releases/1.12.x/announcing-1.12.2/MitigationRelease NotesVendor Advisory
https://github.com/istio/istio/security/advisories/GHSA-mq8f-9446-c28rThird Party Advisory
https://istio.io/latest/news/releases/1.12.x/announcing-1.12.2/MitigationRelease NotesVendor Advisory

FAQ

What is CVE-2022-21701?

CVE-2022-21701 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.0 (MEDIUM). Istio is an open platform to connect, manage, and secure microservices. In versions 1.12.0 and 1.12.1 Istio is vulnerable to a privilege escalation attack. Users who have `CREATE` permission for `gate...

How severe is CVE-2022-21701?

CVE-2022-21701 has been rated MEDIUM with a CVSS base score of 5.0/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.

Is there a patch for CVE-2022-21701?

Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Affected products include: Istio Istio.