Openshift Container PlatformApplication · Redhat
CVE-2019-19354
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 operator-framework/hadoop as shipped in Red Hat Openshift 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 operator-framework/hadoop container shipped with Red Hat OpenShift 4 contains a writable /etc/passwd file, allowing any user with container access to modify this system file. This enables local privilege escalation by adding a new user with root-level privileges or modifying existing user entries.
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
Openshift Container PlatformApplication
>= 4.4, < 4.4.3CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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 operator-framework/hadoop container is deployedRun 'oc get pods --all-namespaces | grep -i hadoop' or 'kubectl get pods --all-namespaces | grep -i hadoop' to find any Hadoop-related pods from the operator-frameworkAffected if Any pods using the operator-framework/hadoop image are found in the cluster
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Check OpenShift platform versionRun 'oc version' or check the cluster version with 'oc get clusterversion -o jsonpath='{.items[0].spec.channel}'' and compare against '>= 4.4, < 4.4.3'Affected if The OpenShift version falls within the range >= 4.4 and < 4.4.3
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Verify /etc/passwd writability inside the containerExec into the container (oc exec -it <pod> -- /bin/sh) and run 'ls -la /etc/passwd' to check permissions; also test with 'echo 'test' >> /etc/passwd' to confirm writabilityAffected if The file shows write permissions for non-root users (permissions other than 644 or stricter) or the write test succeeds
You are affected if the operator-framework/hadoop container is running on OpenShift version 4.4 through 4.4.2 and /etc/passwd inside that 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 data4.4.3
Correct the permissions on /etc/passwd to be read-only for non-root users (typically 644) and ensure the container runs with a read-only root filesystem where possible. Rebuild or replace the affected container image to incorporate the permission fix.
Fix this in Openshift Container Platform
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-19354 — 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-2019-19354 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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