CVE-2019-11253

Public Exploit
Kubernetes API Server JSON/YAML parsing vulnerable to resource exhaustion attack

Description

Improper input validation in the Kubernetes API server in versions v1.0-1.12 and versions prior to v1.13.12, v1.14.8, v1.15.5, and v1.16.2 allows authorized users to send malicious YAML or JSON payloads, causing the API server to consume excessive CPU or memory, potentially crashing and becoming unavailable. Prior to v1.14.0, default RBAC policy authorized anonymous users to submit requests that could trigger this vulnerability. Clusters upgraded from a version prior to v1.14.0 keep the more permissive policy by default for backwards compatibility.

Remediation

Workaround:

  • Exposure to requests from unauthenticated users can be mitigated by removing all write permissions from unauthenticated users, following instructions at https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/83253

Categories

7.5
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 3.1 •
CVSS 2.0 •
EPSS 39.81% Top 5%
Vendor Advisory redhat.com Vendor Advisory redhat.com Vendor Advisory redhat.com
Affected: Kubernetes Kubernetes
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Link Tags
https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/83253 exploit mitigation third party advisory issue tracking
https://groups.google.com/forum/#%21topic/kubernetes-security-announce/jk8polzSUxs mailing list
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3239 third party advisory vendor advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20191031-0006/ third party advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3811 third party advisory vendor advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3905 third party advisory vendor advisory

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2019-11253?
CVE-2019-11253 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2019-11253?
As a workaround for remediating CVE-2019-11253: Exposure to requests from unauthenticated users can be mitigated by removing all write permissions from unauthenticated users, following instructions at https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/83253
Is CVE-2019-11253 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2019-11253 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~40% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2019-11253?
CVE-2019-11253 affects Kubernetes Kubernetes.
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