CVE-2022-39278 : Security Advisory and Response

Istio is an open platform-independent service mesh vulnerable to a denial of service attack. Learn about the impact, technical details, and mitigation steps below.

Understanding CVE-2022-39278

Istio control plane, istiod, is vulnerable to a request processing error prior to versions 1.15.2, 1.14.5, and 1.13.9, allowing a malicious attacker to crash the control plane.

What is CVE-2022-39278?

Istio, a service mesh, is susceptible to a denial of service attack due to a request processing error in the Istio control plane, istiod. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability with a specially crafted message.

The Impact of CVE-2022-39278

The vulnerability allows attackers to crash the Istio control plane when the Kubernetes validating or mutating webhook service is exposed publicly. Versions 1.15.2, 1.14.5, and 1.13.9 have patches available to address this issue.

Technical Details of CVE-2022-39278

Learn about the vulnerability description, affected systems, and exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The issue lies in an error in

regexp.Compile

in Go, affecting Istio versions prior to 1.15.2, 1.14.5, and 1.13.9.

Affected Systems and Versions

Istio versions < 1.13.9, >= 1.14.0, < 1.14.5, and >= 1.15.0, < 1.15.2 are impacted by this vulnerability.

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability allows a malicious attacker to crash the Istio control plane by sending a specially crafted or oversized message to the exposed Kubernetes validating or mutating webhook service.

Mitigation and Prevention

Discover the immediate steps to take and long-term security practices to safeguard your systems.

Immediate Steps to Take

Upgrade to Istio versions 1.15.2, 1.14.5, or 1.13.9 to mitigate the vulnerability. No effective workarounds are available beyond upgrading.

Long-Term Security Practices

Ensure Istio control plane access is restricted and monitor for anomalous traffic patterns to detect potential denial of service attacks.

Patching and Updates

Stay informed about security advisories and promptly apply patches and updates to mitigate known vulnerabilities.