CVE-2019-10223: K8s.io/kube state metrics Kube-state-metrics May Expose Secret Content Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-c92w-72c5-9x59
Share
CVSS 6.5
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-10223 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.5) kube-state-metrics may expose secret content vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting K8s.io/kube state metrics libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves kube-state-metrics may expose secret content in metrics. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.7.2.

CVE-2019-10223 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-10223
GHSA Identifier GHSA-c92w-72c5-9x59
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.5
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product K8s.io/kube state metrics
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.5

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2019-10223

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected K8s.io/kube state metrics dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

k8s.io/kube-state-metrics fixed: 1.7.2 
Upgrade k8s.io/kube-state-metrics to 1.7.2
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 k8s.io/kube-state-metrics

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2019-10223, inspect your project dependencies for K8s.io/kube state metrics:

inspect dependencies for k8s.io/kube-state-metrics

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of K8s.io/kube state metrics in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.7.2), 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-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In K8s.io/kube state metrics, 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

A security issue was discovered in the kube-state-metrics versions v1.7.0 and v1.7.1. An experimental feature was added to the v1.7.0 release that enabled annotations to be exposed as metrics. By default, the kube-state-metrics metrics only expose metadata about Secrets. However, a combination of the default `kubectl` behavior and this new feature can cause the entire secret content to end up in metric labels thus inadvertently exposing the secret content in metrics. This feature has been reverted and released as the v1.7.2 release. If you are running the v1.7.0 or v1.7.1 release, please upgrade to the v1.7.2 release as soon as possible.

CVE-2019-10223 Affected K8s.io/kube state metrics Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.7.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
k8s.io/kube-state-metrics
golang/k8s.io/kube-state-metrics
Go
≥ 1.7.0
< 1.7.2
1.7.2

References

NVD — CVE-2019-10223 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-10223
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/kubernetes/kube-state-metrics/commit/03122fe3e2df49a9a7298b8af921d3c37c430f7f
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-10223
K8s.io/kube state metrics Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/kubernetes/kube-state-metrics
K8s.io/kube state metrics Release RELEASE
https://github.com/kubernetes/kube-state-metrics/releases/tag/v1.7.2
pkg.go.dev/vuln/go-2022-0621 WEB
https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2022-0621
K8s.io/kube state metrics Security Information SECURITY
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/08/09/1
K8s.io/kube state metrics Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/08/15/8

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-10223?
CVE-2019-10223 is a security vulnerability in K8s.io/kube state metrics involving kube-state-metrics may expose secret content in metrics under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which K8s.io/kube state metrics versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.7.2 across affected packages: k8s.io/kube-state-metrics.
What version fixes CVE-2019-10223?
Upgrading to 1.7.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is k8s.io/kube-state-metrics affected?
Yes, k8s.io/kube-state-metrics is affected in releases prior to 1.7.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.7.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-10223?
CVE-2019-10223 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-10223?
CVE-2019-10223 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2019-10223?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for k8s.io/kube-state-metrics'. 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-c92w-72c5-9x59",
  "modified" : "2023-02-08T00:31:28Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:00:21Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-10223" ],
  "summary" : "kube-state-metrics may expose secret content in metrics",
  "details" : "A security issue was discovered in the kube-state-metrics versions v1.7.0 and v1.7.1. An experimental feature was added to the v1.7.0 release that enabled annotations to be exposed as metrics. By default, the kube-state-metrics metrics only expose metadata about Secrets. However, a combination of the default `kubectl` behavior and this new feature can cause the entire secret content to end up in metric labels thus inadvertently exposing the secret content in metrics. This feature has been reverted and released as the v1.7.2 release. If you are running the v1.7.0 or v1.7.1 release, please upgrade to the v1.7.2 release as soon as possible.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "k8s.io/kube-state-metrics"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.7.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.7.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-10223"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kubernetes/kube-state-metrics/commit/03122fe3e2df49a9a7298b8af921d3c37c430f7f"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-10223"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kubernetes/kube-state-metrics"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kubernetes/kube-state-metrics/releases/tag/v1.7.2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2022-0621"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/08/09/1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/08/15/8"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-02-08T00:31:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-11-05T12:15:00Z"
  }
}