CVE-2021-20206

Description

An improper limitation of path name flaw was found in containernetworking/cni. When specifying the plugin to load in the type field in the network configuration, it is possible to use special elements such as "../" separators to reference binaries elsewhere on the system. This flaw allows an attacker to execute other existing binaries other than the cni plugins/types, such as reboot. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, as well as system availability.

Statement

OpenShift ServiceMesh (OSSM) does package a vulnerable version of containernetworking/cni, however, the NetworkDefinitionAttachment is defined in code and cannot be easily changed except through a user who has access to the operator namespace such as cluster-admin. As such, for OSSM, the impact is Moderate.

The fix for podman was released as a part of OpenShift 4.8 and is included in future releases.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details

Info alert:Important note

CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score7.27.2N/A
Attack VectorNetworkNetworkN/A
Attack ComplexityLowLowN/A
Privileges RequiredHighHighN/A
User InteractionNoneNoneN/A
ScopeUnchangedUnchangedN/A
ConfidentialityHighHighN/A
Integrity ImpactHighHighN/A
Availability ImpactHighHighN/A

Vector

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

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

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability

Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands

The attacker may be able to create or overwrite critical files that are used to execute code, such as programs or libraries.

Integrity

Technical Impact: Modify Files or Directories

The attacker may be able to overwrite or create critical files, such as programs, libraries, or important data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, appending a new account at the end of a password file may allow an attacker to bypass authentication.

Confidentiality

Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories

The attacker may be able read the contents of unexpected files and expose sensitive data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, by reading a password file, the attacker could conduct brute force password guessing attacks in order to break into an account on the system.

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

The attacker may be able to overwrite, delete, or corrupt unexpected critical files such as programs, libraries, or important data. This may prevent the product from working at all and in the case of protection mechanisms such as authentication, it has the potential to lock out product users.

Acknowledgements

This issue was discovered by Casey Callendrello (Red Hat).

Frequently Asked Questions

Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.