CVE-2019-11243: K8s.io/kubernetes Kubernetes Did Not Effectively Clear Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gc2p-g4fg-29vh
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CVSS 8.1
CWE-271 CWE-212
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-11243 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.1) kubernetes did not effectively clear vulnerability (CWE-271: Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors) affecting K8s.io/kubernetes libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves kubernetes did not effectively clear service account credentials. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.12.5, 1.13.1.

CVE-2019-11243 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-11243
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gc2p-g4fg-29vh
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.1
CWE Classification CWE-271: Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors
Affected Product K8s.io/kubernetes
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.1

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2019-11243

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected K8s.io/kubernetes 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/kubernetes fixed: 1.12.5 
Upgrade k8s.io/kubernetes to 1.12.5
k8s.io/kubernetes fixed: 1.13.1 
Upgrade k8s.io/kubernetes to 1.13.1
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/kubernetes

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2019-11243, inspect your project dependencies for K8s.io/kubernetes:

inspect dependencies for k8s.io/kubernetes

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of K8s.io/kubernetes in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.12.5), 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-271: Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors, where the product does not drop privileges before passing control of a resource to an actor that does not have those privileges. In K8s.io/kubernetes, 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

In Kubernetes v1.12.0-v1.12.4 and v1.13.0, the rest.AnonymousClientConfig() method returns a copy of the provided config, with credentials removed (bearer token, username/password, and client certificate/key data). In the affected versions, rest.AnonymousClientConfig() did not effectively clear service account credentials loaded using rest.InClusterConfig()

CVE-2019-11243 Affected K8s.io/kubernetes Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.12.51.13.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
k8s.io/kubernetes
golang/k8s.io/kubernetes
Go
≥ 1.12.0
< 1.12.5
1.12.5
k8s.io/kubernetes
golang/k8s.io/kubernetes
Go
≥ 1.13.0
< 1.13.1
1.13.1

References

NVD — CVE-2019-11243 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11243
K8s.io/kubernetes Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/76797
K8s.io/kubernetes Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes
K8s.io/kubernetes Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190509-0002

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-11243?
CVE-2019-11243 is a security vulnerability in K8s.io/kubernetes involving Kubernetes did not effectively clear service account credentials under CWE-271: Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors.
Which K8s.io/kubernetes versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.12.5, 1.13.1 across affected packages: k8s.io/kubernetes.
What version fixes CVE-2019-11243?
Upgrading to 1.12.5, 1.13.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is k8s.io/kubernetes affected?
Yes, k8s.io/kubernetes is affected in releases prior to 1.12.5, 1.13.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.12.5, 1.13.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-11243?
CVE-2019-11243 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-11243?
CVE-2019-11243 is classified under CWE-271: Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors (The product does not drop privileges before passing control of a resource to an actor that does not have those privileges.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2019-11243?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for k8s.io/kubernetes'. 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-gc2p-g4fg-29vh",
  "modified" : "2025-04-24T17:41:45Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T16:44:02Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-11243" ],
  "summary" : "Kubernetes did not effectively clear service account credentials",
  "details" : "In Kubernetes v1.12.0-v1.12.4 and v1.13.0, the rest.AnonymousClientConfig() method returns a copy of the provided config, with credentials removed (bearer token, username/password, and client certificate/key data). In the affected versions, rest.AnonymousClientConfig() did not effectively clear service account credentials loaded using rest.InClusterConfig()",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "k8s.io/kubernetes"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.12.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.12.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "k8s.io/kubernetes"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.13.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.13.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11243"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/76797"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190509-0002"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-212", "CWE-271" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-04-24T17:41:45Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-04-22T15:29:00Z"
  }
}