CVE-2025-23028: Github.com/cilium/cilium Denial of Service Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2025-23028 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Github.com/cilium/cilium libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves dos in cilium agent dns proxy from crafted dns responses. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.14.18, 1.15.12, 1.16.5.
CVE-2025-23028 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 5.3
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:L).
How to Fix CVE-2025-23028
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Github.com/cilium/cilium dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
Upgrade github.com/cilium/cilium to 1.14.18
Upgrade github.com/cilium/cilium to 1.15.12
Upgrade github.com/cilium/cilium to 1.16.5
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
inspect dependencies for github.com/cilium/cilium
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-23028, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/cilium/cilium:
inspect dependencies for github.com/cilium/cilium
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/cilium/cilium in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.14.18), 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-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling, where the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. In Github.com/cilium/cilium, 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
CVE-2025-23028 Affected Github.com/cilium/cilium Versions
3 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
github.com/cilium/cilium
|
Go |
≥ 1.14.0
< 1.14.18
|
1.14.18
|
|
github.com/cilium/cilium
|
Go |
≥ 1.15.0
< 1.15.12
|
1.15.12
|
|
github.com/cilium/cilium
|
Go |
≥ 1.16.0
< 1.16.5
|
1.16.5
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2025-23028?
Which Github.com/cilium/cilium versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2025-23028?
Is github.com/cilium/cilium affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-23028?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-23028?
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2025-23028?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-9m5p-c77c-f9j7",
"modified" : "2025-01-22T18:44:35Z",
"published" : "2025-01-22T18:08:13Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-23028" ],
"summary" : "DoS in Cilium agent DNS proxy from crafted DNS responses",
"details" : "### Impact\n\nIn a Kubernetes cluster where Cilium is configured to proxy DNS traffic, an attacker can crash Cilium agents by sending a crafted DNS response to workloads from outside the cluster.\n\nFor traffic that is allowed but without using DNS-based policy, the dataplane will continue to pass traffic as configured at the time of the DoS. For workloads that have DNS-based policy configured, existing connections may continue to operate, and new connections made without relying on DNS resolution may continue to be established, but new connections which rely on DNS resolution may be disrupted. Any configuration changes that affect the impacted agent may not be applied until the agent is able to restart.\n\n### Patches\n\nThis issue affects:\n\n- Cilium v1.14 between v1.14.0 and v1.14.17 inclusive\n- Cilium v1.15 between v1.15.0 and v1.15.11 inclusive\n- Cilium v1.16 between v1.16.0 and v1.16.4 inclusive\n\nThis issue is fixed in:\n\n- Cilium v1.14.18\n- Cilium v1.15.12\n- Cilium v1.16.5\n\n### Workarounds\n\nThere are no known workarounds to this issue.\n\n### Acknowledgements\n\nThe Cilium community has worked together with members of Isovalent and the Cisco Advanced Security Initiatives Group (ASIG) to prepare these mitigations. Special thanks to @kokelley-cisco for reporting this issue and @bimmlerd for the fix.\n\n### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please reach out on [Slack](https://docs.cilium.io/en/latest/community/community/#slack).\n\nIf you think you have found a vulnerability affecting Cilium, we strongly encourage you to report it to our security mailing list at [security@cilium.io](mailto:security@cilium.io). This is a private mailing list for the Cilium security team, and your report will be treated as top priority.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/cilium/cilium"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.14.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.14.18"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/cilium/cilium"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.15.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.15.12"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/cilium/cilium"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "1.16.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.16.5"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/cilium/cilium/security/advisories/GHSA-9m5p-c77c-f9j7"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-23028"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/cilium/cilium/pull/36252"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/cilium/cilium/commit/1971bc684b6b36703ebae0dd7539c623f988a257"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/cilium/cilium/commit/b1948e217a4212b81175d8bf763d0ef350fcc96c"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/cilium/cilium"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2025-01-22T18:08:13Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2025-01-22T17:15:13Z"
}
}