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CVE-2020-8554· NVD / CVE Program· CNA kubernetes

Kubernetes man in the middle using LoadBalancer or ExternalIPs

Kubernetes API server in all versions allow an attacker who is able to create a ClusterIP service and set the spec.externalIPs field, to intercept traffic to that IP address. Additionally, an attacker who is able to patch the status (which is considered a privileged operation and should not typically be granted to users) of a LoadBalancer service can set the status.loadBalancer.ingress.ip to similar effect.

MediumCVSS 5.0 · v3.1—Proof of concept Fix available
Published
Jan 21, 2021
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
9.3% · 95th percentile
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Action score

23

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
20 / 40 · 5.0 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
3 / 30 · 9.3%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
5.0
CNA · kubernetes
6.3
1.3 point gap

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
kuberneteskubernetes
oraclecommunications cloud native core network slice selection function
oraclecommunications cloud native core policy
oraclecommunications cloud native core service communication proxy

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Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • kubernetes kubernetesall versions

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (kubernetes). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Kubernetes Kubernetes

    • all versionsaffected · semver

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:13kubernetesbefore 1.31.4+ds-11.31.4+ds-1
Gok8s.io/kubernetesup to and including 1.22.0—
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-enterprise-service-catalogbefore 1:3.11.374-1.git.1675.738abcc.el71:3.11.374-1.git.1675.738abcc.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-enterprise-service-catalog-svcatbefore 1:3.11.374-1.git.1675.738abcc.el71:3.11.374-1.git.1675.738abcc.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshiftbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-clientsbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-clients-redistributablebefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-cluster-autoscalerbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.2996f62.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.2996f62.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-deschedulerbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.299.f128e96.el70:3.11.374-1.git.299.f128e96.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-docker-excluderbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-dockerregistrybefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.481.e6a880c.el70:3.11.374-1.git.481.e6a880c.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-excluderbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-hyperkubebefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-hypershiftbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-masterbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-metrics-serverbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.53.9df25a9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.53.9df25a9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-nodebefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-node-problem-detectorbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.263.28335fb.el70:3.11.374-1.git.263.28335fb.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-podbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-sdn-ovsbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-service-idlerbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.15.523a1f7.el70:3.11.374-1.git.15.523a1f7.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-template-service-brokerbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-testsbefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el70:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7
Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7atomic-openshift-web-consolebefore 0:3.11.374-1.git.647.9e78d83.el70:3.11.374-1.git.647.9e78d83.el7

+11

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2018-1002105In all Kubernetes versions prior to v1.10.11, v1.11.5, and v1.12.3, incorrect handling of error responses to proxied upgrade requests in the
    65This week
  • CVE-2019-11248Kubernetes kubelet exposes /debug/pprof info on healthz port
    55Plan
  • CVE-2017-1002101In Kubernetes versions 1.3.x, 1.4.x, 1.5.x, 1.6.x and prior to versions 1.7.14, 1.8.9 and 1.9.4 containers using subpath volume mounts with
    42Plan
  • CVE-2018-1002101In Kubernetes versions 1.9.0-1.9.9, 1.10.0-1.10.5, and 1.11.0-1.11.1, user input was handled insecurely while setting up volume mounts on Wi
    40Plan
  • CVE-2017-1000056Kubernetes version 1.5.0-1.5.4 is vulnerable to a privilege escalation in the PodSecurityPolicy admission plugin resulting in the ability to
    40Plan
  • CVE-2016-1906Openshift allows remote attackers to gain privileges by updating a build configuration that was created with an allowed type to a type that
    40Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:kubernetes1.31.4+ds-1 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-enterprise-service-catalog1:3.11.374-1.git.1675.738abcc.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-enterprise-service-catalog-svcat1:3.11.374-1.git.1675.738abcc.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-clients0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-clients-redistributable0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-cluster-autoscaler0:3.11.374-1.git.0.2996f62.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-descheduler0:3.11.374-1.git.299.f128e96.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-docker-excluder0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-dockerregistry0:3.11.374-1.git.481.e6a880c.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-excluder0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-hyperkube0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)
red hat:atomic-openshift-hypershift0:3.11.374-1.git.0.ebd3ee9.el7 · Red Hat:openshift:3.11::el7Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

Proof of concept available

A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.

Evidence

  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×5

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:32020-12-01
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12020-12-11
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12020-12-20
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02021-01-21
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02021-02-09

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. First PoC-52 d
  2. Published
  3. TodaySep 30, 2026+2078 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
low · data can be read
Integrity
low · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
low · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
Low
Availability impact
Low

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

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Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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References

All records