CVE-2019-11247: Kubernetes kube-apiserver allows access to custom resources via wrong scope

Severity: high (CVSS 8.1 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 2.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2019-08-29 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-20

Description

The Kubernetes kube-apiserver mistakenly allows access to a cluster-scoped custom resource if the request is made as if the resource were namespaced. Authorizations for the resource accessed in this manner are enforced using roles and role bindings within the namespace, meaning that a user with access only to a resource in one namespace could create, view update or delete the cluster-scoped resource (according to their namespace role privileges). Kubernetes affected versions include versions prior to 1.13.9, versions prior to 1.14.5, versions prior to 1.15.2, and versions 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12.

Affected products

Kubernetes: from 1.7.0 through 1.12.10; from 1.13.0 before 1.13.9; from 1.14.0 before 1.14.5; from 1.15.0 before 1.15.2; 1.12.11-beta0 — fixed in 1.13.9, 1.14.5, 1.15.2
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.18: 3.9, 3.10, 3.11

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Kubernetes 1.13.9, 1.14.5, 1.15.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2019-11247 or the next vulnerability affects your stack