OpenshiftApplication · Redhat
CVE-2019-19348
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 · uneditedAn insecure modification vulnerability in the /etc/passwd file was found in the container openshift/apb-base, affecting versions before the following 4.3.5, 4.2.21, 4.1.37, and 3.11.188-4. An attacker with access to the container could use this flaw to modify /etc/passwd and escalate their privileges.
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 confidenceThe openshift/apb-base container image contains a misconfiguration that allows insecure modification of the /etc/passwd file. This permission misconfiguration permits any user with container access to modify /etc/passwd, enabling them to add privileged users or alter existing account settings for privilege escalation.
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
OpenshiftApplication
< 3.11.188-4>= 4.0.0, < 4.1.37>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.21>= 4.3.0, < 4.3.5CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if openshift/apb-base image is deployedRun 'oc get images | grep apb-base' or 'kubectl get pods --all-namespaces -o jsonpath={..image} | tr ' ' '\n' | sort -u | grep apb-base' to find containers using this imageAffected if The image is present in the environment
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Determine the installed apb-base image versionFor each pod using apb-base, run 'oc describe pod <podname> -n <namespace> | grep -i image' or inspect the image directly with 'oc get pod <podname> -o jsonpath={.spec.containers[*].image}'Affected if The image version falls within the affected ranges: < 3.11.188-4, >= 4.0.0 and < 4.1.37, >= 4.2.0 and < 4.2.21, or >= 4.3.0 and < 4.3.5
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Check /etc/passwd file permissions inside the containerExec into a container using the apb-base image and run 'ls -la /etc/passwd' to view permissions. The command is: 'oc exec -it <podname> -- ls -la /etc/passwd'Affected if The file permissions show write access for non-root users (permissions like 666 or writable by group/others)
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Verify if /etc/passwd is writable by testing modificationAs a non-root user inside the container, attempt to create a test user with 'useradd -M -r testuser 2>/dev/null || echo writable' or check using 'touch /etc/passwd.test 2>/dev/null && rm /etc/passwd.test'Affected if The write operation succeeds, confirming the container is vulnerable
A user is affected if the openshift/apb-base image version is within the vulnerable ranges and /etc/passwd inside the container is writable by non-root users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data3.11.188-44.1.374.2.21
Upgrade openshift/apb-base to version 4.3.5, 4.2.21, 4.1.37, 3.11.188-4 or later which contain the patched container image with correct /etc/passwd file permissions.
Fix this in Openshift
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-19348 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-19348 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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