Openshift Container PlatformApplication · Redhat
CVE-2020-1708
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 · uneditedIt has been found in openshift-enterprise version 3.11 and all openshift-enterprise versions from 4.1 to, including 4.3, that multiple containers modify the permissions of /etc/passwd to make them modifiable by users other than root. An attacker with access to the running container can exploit this to modify /etc/passwd to add a user and escalate their privileges. This CVE is specific to the openshift/mysql-apb.
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/mysql-apb container image incorrectly modifies /etc/passwd permissions to allow modification by non-root users. An attacker with access to a running container can exploit this by adding arbitrary users to /etc/passwd and escalating privileges to root.
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
= 3.11= 4.1= 4.2= 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
- 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.
-
Identify if openshift/mysql-apb image is deployedRun 'oc get dc -A | grep mysql-apb' or 'kubectl get deployments -A | grep mysql-apb' to find any deployments using this image, or inspect container images in your registry for 'openshift/mysql-apb'Affected if Any deployment or pod is using the openshift/mysql-apb container image
-
Check /etc/passwd permissions inside the containerExec into a running container from the affected image and run 'ls -la /etc/passwd' to view permissionsAffected if The permissions allow write access for non-root users (e.g., mode 666 or 662, or owner is not root)
-
Verify write access to /etc/passwd as non-rootAs a non-root user inside the container, run 'touch /etc/passwd' or 'echo 'testuser:x:9999:9999::/tmp:/bin/bash' >> /etc/passwd' to test write capabilityAffected if Non-root users can successfully modify /etc/passwd
-
Check container security contextReview the pod/deployment security context with 'oc get pod <podname> -o yaml' or 'kubectl get pod <podname> -o yaml' and check runAsUser, fsGroup, and allowPrivilegeEscalation settingsAffected if Security context allows containers to run as root or grants capabilities that enable /etc/passwd modification
You are affected if the openshift/mysql-apb image is deployed in your OpenShift environment and containers based on it permit non-root users to write to /etc/passwd.
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 dataFix the container image to restore /etc/passwd to read-only permissions for non-root users, and configure OpenShift security contexts to prevent containers from modifying system file permissions.
Fix this in Openshift Container Platform
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-1708 — 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-2020-1708 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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