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CVE-2019-11249

kubectl cp allows symlink directory traversal

CVSS 4.8 MEDIUMEPSS 3.7%CWE-61
In short

The kubectl cp command can be exploited through a malicious tar binary in a container to write files to any location on the user's machine. An attacker with control over the container can execute arbitrary code and place files anywhere the local user has permission to write.

Technical detail

kubectl cp unpacks tar archives from containers without proper validation of symlinks or path traversal. An attacker controlling the container's tar binary can output malicious content (symlinks, absolute paths) that kubectl unpacks on the host system, enabling arbitrary file writes within the local user's permission scope. Affected versions prior to 1.13.9, 1.14.5, and 1.15.2.

Summary generated and translated by AI from the official description.
The kubectl cp command allows copying files between containers and the user machine. To copy files from a container, Kubernetes runs tar inside the container to create a tar archive, copies it over the network, and kubectl unpacks it on the user’s machine. If the tar binary in the container is malicious, it could run any code and output unexpected, malicious results. An attacker could use this to write files to any path on the user’s machine when kubectl cp is called, limited only by the system permissions of the local user. Kubernetes affected versions include versions prior to 1.13.9, versions prior to 1.14.5, versions prior to 1.15.2, and versions 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Affected products
Kubernetes · Kubernetes

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