CVE-2022-23635: Istio.io/istio Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f
CVSS 7.5
CWE-287 CWE-1284
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-23635 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Istio.io/istio libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves unauthenticated control plane denial of service attack in istio. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.13.1, 1.12.4, 1.11.7.

CVE-2022-23635 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-23635
GHSA Identifier GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Affected Product Istio.io/istio
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2022-23635

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: 1.13.1
Upgrade istio.io/istio to 1.13.1
istio.io/istio fixed: 1.12.4
Upgrade istio.io/istio to 1.12.4
istio.io/istio fixed: 1.11.7
Upgrade istio.io/istio to 1.11.7
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-2022-23635, 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 1.13.1), 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-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. 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

### Impact The Istio control plane, `istiod`, is vulnerable to a request processing error, allowing a malicious attacker that sends a specially crafted message which results in the control plane crashing. This endpoint is served over TLS port 15012, but does not require any authentication from the attacker. For simple installations, Istiod is typically only reachable from within the cluster, limiting the blast radius. However, for some deployments, especially [multicluster](https://istio.io/latest/docs/setup/install/multicluster/primary-remote/) topologies, this port is exposed over the public internet. ### Patches - Istio 1.13.1 and above - Istio 1.12.4 and above - Istio 1.11.7 and above ### Workarounds There are no effective workarounds, beyond upgrading. Limiting network access to Istiod to the minimal set of clients can help lessen the scope of the vulnerability to some extent. ### References More details can be found in the [Istio Security Bulletin](https://istio.io/latest/news/security/istio-security-2022-003) ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at [istio-security-vulnerability-reports@googlegroups.com](mailto:istio-security-vulnerability-reports@googlegroups.com)

CVE-2022-23635 Affected Istio.io/istio Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.13.11.12.41.11.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
istio.io/istio
Go
≥ 1.13.0
< 1.13.1
All 1 versions
1.13.0
1.13.1
istio.io/istio
Go
≥ 1.12.0
< 1.12.4
1.12.4
istio.io/istio
Go
< 1.11.7
1.11.7

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-23635?
CVE-2022-23635 is a security vulnerability in Istio.io/istio involving Unauthenticated control plane denial of service attack in Istio under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Istio.io/istio versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.13.1, 1.12.4, 1.11.7 across affected packages: istio.io/istio.
What version fixes CVE-2022-23635?
Upgrading to 1.13.1, 1.12.4, 1.11.7 (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 1.13.1, 1.12.4, 1.11.7. Upgrade your dependency to 1.13.1, 1.12.4, 1.11.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-23635?
CVE-2022-23635 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-23635?
CVE-2022-23635 is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication (When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2022-23635?
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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f",
  "modified" : "2022-02-25T15:38:52Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-23T14:59:08Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-23635" ],
  "summary" : "Unauthenticated control plane denial of service attack in Istio",
  "details" : "### Impact\nThe Istio control plane, `istiod`, is vulnerable to a request processing error, allowing a malicious attacker that sends a specially crafted message which results in the control plane crashing. This endpoint is served over TLS port 15012, but does not require any authentication from the attacker.\n\nFor simple installations, Istiod is typically only reachable from within the cluster, limiting the blast radius. However, for some deployments, especially [multicluster](https://istio.io/latest/docs/setup/install/multicluster/primary-remote/) topologies, this port is exposed over the public internet.\n\n### Patches\n\n- Istio 1.13.1 and above\n- Istio 1.12.4 and above\n- Istio 1.11.7 and above\n\n### Workarounds\nThere are no effective workarounds, beyond upgrading. Limiting network access to Istiod to the minimal set of clients can help lessen the scope of the vulnerability to some extent.\n\n### References\nMore details can be found in the [Istio Security Bulletin](https://istio.io/latest/news/security/istio-security-2022-003)\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please email us at [istio-security-vulnerability-reports@googlegroups.com](mailto:istio-security-vulnerability-reports@googlegroups.com)\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "istio.io/istio"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.13.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.13.1"
      } ]
    } ],
    "versions" : [ "1.13.0" ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "istio.io/istio"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.12.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.12.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "istio.io/istio"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.11.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/istio/istio/security/advisories/GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23635"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/istio/istio/commit/5f3b5ed958ae75156f8656fe7b3794f78e94db84"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/istio/istio"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://istio.io/latest/news/security/istio-security-2022-003"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1284", "CWE-287" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-02-23T14:59:08Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-02-22T22:15:00Z"
  }
}