CVE-2019-12243: Istio.io/istio Istio May Not Check Inbound Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6g5f-f5pm-mjrg
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CVSS 9.3
CWE-284
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-12243 is a HIGH (CVSS 9.3) istio may not check inbound vulnerability (CWE-284: Improper Access Control) affecting Istio.io/istio libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves istio may not check inbound tcp connections against istio-policy. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.1.7.

CVE-2019-12243 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-12243
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6g5f-f5pm-mjrg
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.3
CWE Classification CWE-284: Improper Access Control
Affected Product Istio.io/istio
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:H/RL:O/RC:C).

Attack Vector Adjacent (AV:A)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2019-12243

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Istio.io/istio dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

istio.io/istio fixed: 1.1.7 
Upgrade istio.io/istio to 1.1.7
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for istio.io/istio

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2019-12243, inspect your project dependencies for Istio.io/istio:

inspect dependencies for istio.io/istio

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Istio.io/istio in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.1.7), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control, where the product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor. In Istio.io/istio, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Istio 1.1.x through 1.1.6 has Incorrect Access Control. When `disablePolicyChecks` is set to `false`, inbound TCP connections do not generate Check requests to istio-policy and external authorization is not applied. This behavior is a result of a change to `istio/pilot/pkg/networking/plugin/mixer/mixer.go` in 1.1.

CVE-2019-12243 Affected Istio.io/istio Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.1.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
istio.io/istio
golang/istio.io/istio
Go
≥ 1.1.0
< 1.1.7
1.1.7

References

NVD — CVE-2019-12243 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-12243
Istio.io/istio Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/istio/istio/issues/13868
Istio.io/istio Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/istio/istio/pull/13893/commits/91faba277439dab798185730d1624bd53e37bb06
istio.io/blog/2019/cve-2019-... WEB
https://istio.io/blog/2019/cve-2019-12243

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-12243?
CVE-2019-12243 is a security vulnerability in Istio.io/istio involving Istio may not check inbound TCP connections against istio-policy under CWE-284: Improper Access Control.
Which Istio.io/istio versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.1.7 across affected packages: istio.io/istio.
What version fixes CVE-2019-12243?
Upgrading to 1.1.7 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is istio.io/istio affected?
Yes, istio.io/istio is affected in releases prior to 1.1.7. Upgrade your dependency to 1.1.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-12243?
CVE-2019-12243 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.3 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:H/RL:O/RC:C.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-12243?
CVE-2019-12243 is classified under CWE-284: Improper Access Control (The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2019-12243?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for istio.io/istio'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-6g5f-f5pm-mjrg",
  "modified" : "2023-09-14T19:31:06Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-15T01:57:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-12243" ],
  "summary" : "Istio may not check inbound TCP connections against istio-policy",
  "details" : "Istio 1.1.x through 1.1.6 has Incorrect Access Control. When `disablePolicyChecks` is set to `false`, inbound TCP connections do not generate Check requests to istio-policy and external authorization is not applied.\n\nThis behavior is a result of a change to `istio/pilot/pkg/networking/plugin/mixer/mixer.go` in 1.1.\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:H/RL:O/RC:C"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "istio.io/istio"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.1.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-12243"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/istio/istio/issues/13868"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/istio/istio/pull/13893/commits/91faba277439dab798185730d1624bd53e37bb06"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://istio.io/blog/2019/cve-2019-12243"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-284" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-05-17T15:53:48Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}