In Istio 1.5.0 though 1.5.8 and Istio 1.6.0 through 1.6.7, when users specify an…
Priority LOW 32CWE-284Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-284.
Summary
In Istio 1.5.0 though 1.5.8 and Istio 1.6.0 through 1.6.7, when users specify an AuthorizationPolicy resource with DENY actions using wildcard suffixes (e.g. *-some-suffix) for source principals or namespace fields, callers will never be denied access, bypassing the intended policy.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.01095 65th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Fixed istio.io/istio (Go): 1.5.9, 1.6.8Red Hat: 1 advisory
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | istio.io/istio (Go) | 1.5.0 to before 1.5.9 | 1.5.9 | Patch available | GHSA-82mm-ffjr-h86c |
| — | istio.io/istio (Go) | 1.6.0 to before 1.6.8 | 1.6.8 | Patch available | GHSA-82mm-ffjr-h86c |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- istio.io/istio (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.5.0 to before 1.5.9 Fixed in 1.5.9 Patch available GHSA-82mm-ffjr-h86c
- istio.io/istio (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.6.0 to before 1.6.8 Fixed in 1.6.8 Patch available GHSA-82mm-ffjr-h86c
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-82mm-ffjr-h86c istio.io/istio (Go) Fixed in 1.5.9 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-82mm-ffjr-h86c istio.io/istio (Go) Fixed in 1.6.8 Advisory →
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2020:3425 Released 2020-08-11 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 1.1 security update
- OpenShift Service Mesh 1.1 servicemesh-1.1.7-1.el8, servicemesh-citadel-1.1.7-1.el8, servicemesh-galley-1.1.7-1.el8 +6
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| OpenShift Service Mesh 1.1 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3425 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-16844
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-82mm-ffjr-h86c
References
Other 7
- https://github.com/istio/istio/commit/4c73414556b83f0e75c1b3a0a89a23103a71573c
- https://github.com/istio/istio/commit/72d2e135374f421b656d6f1a21f474db46134ace
- https://github.com/istio/istio/releases/tag/1.5.9
- https://github.com/istio/istio/releases/tag/1.6.8
- https://istio.io/latest/news/releases/1.5.x/announcing-1.5.9
- https://istio.io/latest/news/releases/1.6.x/announcing-1.6.8
- https://istio.io/latest/news/security/istio-security-2020-009
More Istio vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-79288 Out-of-bounds write in Google Brotli decoder KEVCVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.2
- TI-2023-23979 The HTTP/2 protocol allows a denial of service (server resource consumption) because… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2022-06055 Authorization Policy bypass in Istio CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2021-11909 Istio before 1.8.6 and 1.9.x before 1.9.5 contains a remotely exploitable vulnerability… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-24390 Istio JWKS resolver to prevent private key material from being exposed when JWKS fetch fails. CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2022-13090 Ill-formed headers may lead to unexpected behavior in Istio CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2020-16844 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-16844 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-82mm-ffjr-h86c · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-16844 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences