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KubernetesApplication

CVE-2019-11247

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-08-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.13.9 / 1.14.5 or later.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Kubernetes kube-apiserver mistakenly allows access to a cluster-scoped custom resource if the request is made as if the resource were namespaced. Authorizations for the resource accessed in this manner are enforced using roles and role bindings within the namespace, meaning that a user with access only to a resource in one namespace could create, view update or delete the cluster-scoped resource (according to their namespace role privileges). Kubernetes affected versions include versions prior to 1.13.9, versions prior to 1.14.5, versions prior to 1.15.2, and versions 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Kubernetes kube-apiserver incorrectly allows access to cluster-scoped custom resources when accessed as if they were namespaced resources. Authorization is incorrectly enforced using namespace-scoped roles and role bindings, allowing a user with access only to one namespace to create, view, update, or delete cluster-scoped resources according to their namespace role privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Kubernetes to version 1.13.9, 1.14.5, 1.15.2 or later to patch the authorization bypass in kube-apiserver.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
KubernetesApplication
Affected:>= 1.7.0, <= 1.12.10>= 1.13.0, < 1.13.9>= 1.14.0, < 1.14.5>= 1.15.0, < 1.15.2= 1.12.11
Openshift Container PlatformApplication
Affected:= 3.9= 3.10= 3.11

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify kube-apiserver version
    Run `kubectl get pods -n kube-system -o jsonpath='{.items[0].spec.containers[0].image}'` to get the kube-apiserver image, or check the binary version with `kube-apiserver --version`
    Affected if The installed version falls within 1.7.0-1.12.10, 1.12.11, 1.13.0-1.13.8, 1.14.0-1.14.4, or 1.15.0-1.15.1 (or OpenShift 3.9/3.10/3.11)
  2. Check for cluster-scoped custom resources
    Run `kubectl get crds -o jsonpath='{range .items[?(@.spec.scope=="Cluster")]}{.metadata.name}{"\n"}{end}'` to list cluster-scoped CRDs
    Affected if Any CustomResourceDefinitions exist with scope set to Cluster (cluster-scoped resources present)
  3. Review RBAC role bindings that may grant namespace-scoped access
    Run `kubectl get rolebindings --all-namespaces -o wide` and `kubectl get clusterrolebindings -o wide` to examine which users or groups have access to custom resources
    Affected if Users or groups are bound via RoleBindings or ClusterRoleBindings to roles that grant create/view/update/delete permissions on custom resources in any namespace
  4. Verify if cluster-scoped resources can be accessed from a namespace context
    As a test, attempt to access a cluster-scoped custom resource using a namespace-scoped service account or user that should NOT have cluster-wide permissions (e.g., `kubectl get <cluster-scoped-crd-name> --as=<user>`)
    Affected if The user with only namespace-level permissions can successfully perform operations on cluster-scoped resources when they should be denied

The environment is affected if the kube-apiserver version is within the vulnerable range AND cluster-scoped custom resources exist AND namespace-scoped RBAC roles can incorrectly access those cluster-scoped resources.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.13.9 / 1.14.5 / 1.15.2 or later
Fixed in 1.13.91.14.51.15.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Kubernetes to version 1.13.9, 1.14.5, 1.15.2 or later to patch the authorization bypass in kube-apiserver.

Fix this in Kubernetes Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-11247 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data