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TI-2019-08421 Aliases CVE-2019-11251GHSA-6qfg-8799-r575

kubectl cp allows symlink directory traversal

Priority LOW 31CWE-61Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
Required
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · High · None
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 3 fixed, 1 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat.

Summary

The Kubernetes kubectl cp command in versions 1.1-1.12, and versions prior to 1.13.11, 1.14.7, and 1.15.4 allows a combination of two symlinks provided by tar output of a malicious container to place a file outside of the destination directory specified in the kubectl cp invocation. This could be used to allow an attacker to place a nefarious file using a symlink, outside of the destination tree.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.0262 85th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Kubernetes (Kubernetes): 1.13.11, 1.14.7, 1.15.4k8s.io/kubernetes (Go): 1.13.11, 1.14.7, 1.16.0Red Hat: 4 advisoriesRed Hat: 3 fixed, 1 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
KubernetesKubernetesbefore 1.13.11; before 1.14.7; before 1.15.4; 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 1.4; 1.5; 1.6; 1.7; 1.8; 1.9; 1.10; 1.11; 1.121.13.11, 1.14.7, 1.15.4Patch availableCNA
—k8s.io/kubernetes (Go)1.13.10 to before 1.13.111.13.11Patch availableGHSA-6qfg-8799-r575
—k8s.io/kubernetes (Go)1.14.6 to before 1.14.71.14.7Patch availableGHSA-6qfg-8799-r575
—k8s.io/kubernetes (Go)1.15.3 to before 1.16.01.16.0Patch availableGHSA-6qfg-8799-r575
  • Kubernetes VendorKubernetes Affected before 1.13.11; before 1.14.7; before 1.15.4; 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 1.4; 1.5; 1.6; 1.7; 1.8; 1.9; 1.10; 1.11; 1.12 Fixed in 1.13.11, 1.14.7, 1.15.4 Patch available CNA
  • k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.13.10 to before 1.13.11 Fixed in 1.13.11 Patch available GHSA-6qfg-8799-r575
  • k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.14.6 to before 1.14.7 Fixed in 1.14.7 Patch available GHSA-6qfg-8799-r575
  • k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.15.3 to before 1.16.0 Fixed in 1.16.0 Patch available GHSA-6qfg-8799-r575

CPE configurations NVD · 2

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.13.0 to before 1.13.11; 1.14.0 to before 1.14.7; 1.15.0 to before 1.15.4VulnerableKubernetes
cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:1.1-1.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*1.1-1.12VulnerableKubernetes
  • cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.13.0 to before 1.13.11; 1.14.0 to before 1.14.7; 1.15.0 to before 1.15.4 Vulnerable ·Kubernetes
  • cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:1.1-1.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.1-1.12 Vulnerable ·Kubernetes

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Kubernetes (Kubernetes) Fixed in 1.13.11, 1.14.7, 1.15.4
  • Fix · GHSA-6qfg-8799-r575 k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Fixed in 1.13.11 Advisory →
  • Fix · GHSA-6qfg-8799-r575 k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Fixed in 1.14.7 Advisory →
  • Fix · GHSA-6qfg-8799-r575 k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Fixed in 1.16.0 Advisory →

Red Hat 4 advisories

  • RHSA-2019:3905 Released 2019-11-18 · Red Hat rating Important
    OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 atomic-openshift security update
    • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 atomic-openshift-3.11.154-1.git.0.7a097ad.el7, atomic-openshift-clients-3.11.154-1.git.0.7a097ad.el7, atomic-openshift-clients-redistributable-3.11.154-1.git.0.7a097ad.el7 +10
  • RHSA-2019:3811 Released 2019-11-07 · Red Hat rating Important
    OpenShift Container Platform 3.9 atomic-openshift security update
    • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.9 atomic-openshift-3.9.102-1.git.0.6411f52.el7, atomic-openshift-clients-3.9.102-1.git.0.6411f52.el7, atomic-openshift-clients-redistributable-3.9.102-1.git.0.6411f52.el7 +11
  • RHSA-2019:3267 Released 2019-10-30 · Red Hat rating Moderate
    OpenShift Container Platform 4.1 openshift-enterprise-cli-container security update
    • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.1 openshift4/ose-cli
Show 1 more Red Hat advisories
  • RHSA-2019:3266 Released 2019-10-30 · Red Hat rating Moderate
    OpenShift Container Platform 4.1 openshift security update
    • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.1 openshift-4.1.21-201910220952.git.0.493dbf6.el7, openshift-4.1.21-201910220952.git.0.493dbf6.el8, openshift-clients-4.1.21-201910220952.git.0.493dbf6.el7 +5

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.10AffectedNo fix yet
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11Fixed RHSA-2019:3905
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.9Fixed RHSA-2019:3811
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.1Fixed RHSA-2019:3266, RHSA-2019:3267
Not affected: 1 product
  • Red Hat Storage 3

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2019-11251
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6qfg-8799-r575

References

Advisory 3

Other 1

  • TI-2018-16130 Improper privilege management in Kubernetes CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2019-08418 Kubernetes kubelet exposes /debug/pprof info on healthz port CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.2
  • TI-2023-05086 Kubernetes - Windows nodes - Insufficient input sanitization in in-tree storage plugin leads to privilege escalation CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2023-03433 Kubernetes - Windows nodes - Insufficient input sanitization leads to privilege escalation CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2023-02285 Bypass of seccomp profile enforcement CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
  • TI-2017-14755 Link following in Kubernetes CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.6
See all 55 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences