CVE-2025-5187
Description
A vulnerability was found in the kube-apiserver's NodeRestriction admission controller, where node users can delete their corresponding node object by setting their own OwnerReference to a cluster-scoped resource. This flaw allows an attacker to delete and recreate its node object, leading to the node being recreated with modified taints or labels, which should not be allowed in this context. This may let the attacker control which pods are running on the compromised node.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as having a Moderate severity. For a successful attack to take place, the attacker needs to have a high privileged account with enough privileges to create the nodes.
Mitigation
This vulnerability can be mitigated by enabling the OwnerReferencesPermissionEnforcement admission controller, which will prevent any user without delete permissions on an object from modifying the OwnerReferences on that object.
Note that this admission controller will apply to all users and object types.
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 Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.7 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | High | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | Low | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Access Control,Other
Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Varies by Context
Exposing critical functionality essentially provides an attacker with the privilege level of that functionality. The consequences will depend on the associated functionality, but they can range from reading or modifying sensitive data, accessing administrative or other privileged functionality, or possibly even executing arbitrary code.
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