CVE-2025-64434
Description
A flaw was found in KubeVirt's virt-handler component. Improper TLS certificate verification in the peer authentication logic allows an attacker who has compromised one virt-handler instance to impersonate the virt-api component and execute privileged operations against other virt-handler instances, compromising the integrity and availability of virtual machines managed across the cluster.
Statement
The impact oF this vulnerability is rated MODERATE because successful exploitation requires first compromising a privileged virt-handler component, which is not directly accessible to untrusted users and requires prior breach of Kubernetes node or container security boundaries. he vulnerability stems from shared credentials and inadequate validation that allows a compromised virt-handler to present itself as the legitimate virt-api service when communicating with other virt-handler instances. An attacker who successfully compromises a single virt-handler - a privileged Kubernetes DaemonSet component running on each node, can exploit this authentication weakness to perform lateral movement within the cluster, executing privileged operations on VMs managed by other virt-handler instances on different nodes.
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | 6.3 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | High | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | Low | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | High | High | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Authentication
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism; Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
When a certificate is invalid or malicious, it might allow an attacker to spoof a trusted entity by interfering in the communication path between the host and client. The product might connect to a malicious host while believing it is a trusted host, or the product might be deceived into accepting spoofed data that appears to originate from a trusted host.
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