Privilege escalation from compromised node to cluster
Priority LOW 39CWE-601Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Spoofing
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-601.
Summary
The Kubernetes kube-apiserver in versions v1.6-v1.15, and versions prior to v1.16.13, v1.17.9 and v1.18.6 are vulnerable to an unvalidated redirect on proxied upgrade requests that could allow an attacker to escalate privileges from a node compromise to a full cluster compromise.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.061 93rd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 2 exploit referencesTagged by NVD
Fix Fixed k8s.io/apimachinery (Go): 0.16.13, 0.17.9, 0.18.7k8s.io/kubernetes (Go): 1.16.13, 1.17.9, 1.18.7Red Hat: 5 advisories
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes | Kubernetes | 1.6; 1.7; 1.8; 1.9; 1.10; 1.11; 1.12; 1.13; 1.14; 1.15; 1.16 – 1.16.12; 1.17 – 1.17.8; 1.18 – 1.18.5 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) | before 0.16.13 | 0.16.13 | Patch available | GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm |
| — | k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) | 0.17.0 to before 0.17.9 | 0.17.9 | Patch available | GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm |
| — | k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) | 0.18.0 to before 0.18.7 | 0.18.7 | Patch available | GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm |
| — | k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) | before 1.16.13 | 1.16.13 | Patch available | GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm |
| — | k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) | 1.17.0 to before 1.17.9 | 1.17.9 | Patch available | GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm |
| — | k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) | 1.18.0 to before 1.18.7 | 1.18.7 | Patch available | GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm |
- Kubernetes VendorKubernetes Affected 1.6; 1.7; 1.8; 1.9; 1.10; 1.11; 1.12; 1.13; 1.14; 1.15; 1.16 – 1.16.12; 1.17 – 1.17.8; 1.18 – 1.18.5 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) Vendor— Affected before 0.16.13 Fixed in 0.16.13 Patch available GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm
- k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) Vendor— Affected 0.17.0 to before 0.17.9 Fixed in 0.17.9 Patch available GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm
- k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) Vendor— Affected 0.18.0 to before 0.18.7 Fixed in 0.18.7 Patch available GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm
- k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Vendor— Affected before 1.16.13 Fixed in 1.16.13 Patch available GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm
- k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.17.0 to before 1.17.9 Fixed in 1.17.9 Patch available GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm
- k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.18.0 to before 1.18.7 Fixed in 1.18.7 Patch available GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 1.6.0 – 1.15.0; 1.16.0 to before 1.16.13; 1.17.0 to before 1.17.9; 1.18.0 to before 1.18.6 | Vulnerable | Kubernetes |
- cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.6.0 – 1.15.0; 1.16.0 to before 1.16.13; 1.17.0 to before 1.17.9; 1.18.0 to before 1.18.6 Vulnerable ·Kubernetes
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) Fixed in 0.16.13 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) Fixed in 0.17.9 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm k8s.io/apimachinery (Go) Fixed in 0.18.7 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Fixed in 1.16.13 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Fixed in 1.17.9 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm k8s.io/kubernetes (Go) Fixed in 1.18.7 Advisory →
Red Hat 5 advisories
- RHSA-2021:0281 Released 2021-02-03 · Red Hat rating ImportantOpenShift Container Platform 4.4.33 bug fix and security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.4 openshift4/ose-aws-machine-controllers, openshift4/ose-azure-machine-controllers, openshift4/ose-baremetal-machine-controllers +47
- RHSA-2021:0030 Released 2021-01-13 · Red Hat rating ModerateOpenShift Container Platform 4.4.32 packages and security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.4 openshift-4.4.0-202012052258.p0.git.0.0fd57a4.el7, openshift-4.4.0-202012052258.p0.git.0.0fd57a4.el8, openshift-hyperkube-4.4.0-202012052258.p0.git.0.0fd57a4.el7 +1
- RHSA-2020:5363 Released 2020-12-16 · Red Hat rating ModerateOpenShift Container Platform 3.11.346 security and bug fix update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 atomic-openshift-3.11.346-1.git.0.ea10721.el7, atomic-openshift-clients-3.11.346-1.git.0.ea10721.el7, atomic-openshift-clients-redistributable-3.11.346-1.git.0.ea10721.el7 +10
Show 2 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2020:5194 Released 2020-12-01 · Red Hat rating ModerateOpenShift Container Platform 4.5.21 bug fix and security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.5 openshift4/ose-hyperkube
- RHSA-2020:4298 Released 2020-10-27 · Red Hat rating ModerateOpenShift Container Platform 4.6.1 image security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 openshift4/ose-ansible-operator, openshift4/ose-aws-machine-controllers, openshift4/ose-azure-machine-controllers +47
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:5363 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.4 | Fixed | RHSA-2021:0030, RHSA-2021:0281 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.5 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:5194 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4298 |
Not affected: 7 products
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.5
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 for System Z over RHEL 8
- Red Hat Storage 3
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-8559
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm
References
Exploit 2
Advisory 2
Other 6
- https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/92941
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1851422
- https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes
- https://github.com/tdwyer/CVE-2020-8559
- https://groups.google.com/g/kubernetes-security-announce/c/JAIGG5yNROs
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200810-0004
More Kubernetes vulnerabilities
- 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
Sources
- CVE-2020-8559 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-8559 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-33c5-9fx5-fvjm · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-8559 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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