Skip to main content
HIGH7.6CVE-2022-29179GHSA-fmrf-gvjp-5j5g
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected projects
cilium
Disclosed
Last updated

Affected versions

ProjectVulnerable range
cilium-agent<= 1.8, <= 1.9.15, <= 1.10.10, <= 1.11.4

Patched versions

ProjectFixed in
cilium-agent>= 1.9.16, >= 1.10.11, >= 1.11.5

References

Summary​

If an attacker is able to perform a container escape of a container running as root on a host where Cilium is installed, the attacker can leverage Cilium's Kubernetes ServiceAccount to gain access to cluster privileges that are more permissive than what is minimally required to operate Cilium. In affected releases, this ServiceAccount had access to modify and delete Pod and Node resources.

Summary of attack chain​

  1. Attacker compromises a workload running as root on the node.
  2. Attacker escapes the container — for example via a privileged or hostPath-mounted pod.
  3. On the host, the attacker locates the cilium-agent ServiceAccount token mounted into the cilium-agent pod and uses it against the API server.
  4. The over-permissive ClusterRole grants update and delete on pods and nodes, letting the attacker disrupt the cluster, evict workloads, or cordon / drain nodes.

Impact​

Any compromise of a root container on a node where Cilium is installed escalates to cluster-wide impact on Pod and Node resources. The CVSS scope change (S:C) reflects this — the blast radius is the cluster, not the original pod. Clusters running affected Cilium versions are exposed regardless of their tenant model; the escalation depends only on container escape, not on Cilium-specific behaviour.

Detection​

Audit the Kubernetes audit log for update and delete actions on pods or nodes issued by system:serviceaccount:kube-system:cilium (or whichever namespace / SA name your install uses). Anomalous activity from that ServiceAccount — particularly outside the cilium-agent's own pod lifecycle — is a strong signal.

Mitigation​

Upgrade cilium-agent to one of the patched releases on the appropriate line:

  • Cilium 1.11.5 or later (for the 1.11 line)
  • Cilium 1.10.11 or later (for the 1.10 line)
  • Cilium 1.9.16 or later (for the 1.9 line)
  • The 1.8 line is affected and not separately patched — upgrade to a supported line.

There is no workaround. Pair the upgrade with the standard mitigations against container escape: enforce Pod Security Admission restricted, drop all Linux capabilities, run as a non-root UID, and avoid hostPath / privileged: true workloads.

References​