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.
This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.0, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network but requires specific conditions to be met without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts limited data confidentiality, limited integrity, and limited availability for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from istio organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2022, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2022-01-19T22:15:09.547
2024-11-21T06:45:15.887
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 5.0 (MEDIUM)
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
6.8
6.4
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.0 | Yes |
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.0 | Yes |
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.0 | Yes |
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.0 | Yes |
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.0 | Yes |
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.0 | Yes |
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.0 | Yes |
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.0 | Yes |
| Application | istio | istio | 1.12.1 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For istio's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.