Unauthenticated control plane denial of service attack in Istio
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-287.
Summary
Istio is an open platform to connect, manage, and secure microservices. In affected versions the Istio control plane, `istiod`, is vulnerable to a request processing error, allowing a malicious attacker that sends a specially crafted message which results in the control plane crashing. This endpoint is served over TLS port 15012, but does not require any authentication from the attacker. For simple installations, Istiod is typically only reachable from within the cluster, limiting the blast radius. However, for some deployments, especially [multicluster](https://istio.io/latest/docs/setup/install/multicluster/primary-remote/) topologies, this port is exposed over the public internet. There are no effective workarounds, beyond upgrading. Limiting network access to Istiod to the minimal set of clients can help lessen the scope of the vulnerability to some extent.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| istio | istio | 1.13.0 to before 1.13.1; 1.12.0 to before 1.12.4; before 1.11.7 | 1.13.1, 1.12.4, 1.11.7 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | istio.io/istio (Go) | 1.13.0 to before 1.13.1 | 1.13.1 | Patch available | GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f |
| — | istio.io/istio (Go) | 1.12.0 to before 1.12.4 | 1.12.4 | Patch available | GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f |
| — | istio.io/istio (Go) | before 1.11.7 | 1.11.7 | Patch available | GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f |
- istio Vendoristio Affected 1.13.0 to before 1.13.1; 1.12.0 to before 1.12.4; before 1.11.7 Fixed in 1.13.1, 1.12.4, 1.11.7 Patch available CNA
- istio.io/istio (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.13.0 to before 1.13.1 Fixed in 1.13.1 Patch available GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f
- istio.io/istio (Go) Vendor— Affected 1.12.0 to before 1.12.4 Fixed in 1.12.4 Patch available GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f
- istio.io/istio (Go) Vendor— Affected before 1.11.7 Fixed in 1.11.7 Patch available GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f
Remediation
- Fix · CNA istio (istio) Fixed in 1.13.1, 1.12.4, 1.11.7
- Fix · GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f istio.io/istio (Go) Fixed in 1.13.1 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f istio.io/istio (Go) Fixed in 1.12.4 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f istio.io/istio (Go) Fixed in 1.11.7 Advisory →
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2022:1275 Released 2022-04-07 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 2.1.2 security update
- OpenShift Service Mesh 2.1 servicemesh-2.1.2-4.el8, servicemesh-cni-2.1.2-4.el8, servicemesh-pilot-agent-2.1.2-4.el8 +3
- RHSA-2022:1276 Released 2022-04-07 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 2.0.9 security update
- OpenShift Service Mesh 2.0 kiali-v1.24.7.redhat1-1.el8, servicemesh-2.0.9-3.el8, servicemesh-istioctl-2.0.9-3.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 2.0 | Fixed | RHSA-2022:1276 |
| OpenShift Service Mesh 2.1 | Fixed | RHSA-2022:1275 |
Not affected: 2 products
- OpenShift Service Mesh 2.0
- OpenShift Service Mesh 2.1
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-23635
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f
References
Advisory 3
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-2022-23635 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-23635 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-856q-xv3c-7f2f · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-23635 · 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