CVE-2019-19349
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows an attacker with access to the operator-metering container in Red Hat OpenShift 4 to modify the /etc/passwd file, potentially enabling privilege escalation. It affects OpenShift 4 deployments using the vulnerable operator-framework/operator-metering container. The insecure modification flaw could allow attackers to gain elevated privileges within the container environment.
💻 Affected Systems
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform
- operator-framework/operator-metering
📦 What is this software?
Openshift by Redhat
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full container compromise leading to cluster-wide privilege escalation, data exfiltration, and lateral movement within the OpenShift environment.
Likely Case
Container-level privilege escalation allowing unauthorized access to sensitive metering data and potential manipulation of container operations.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper container security controls, network segmentation, and minimal privileges preventing effective exploitation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires existing access to the container, making it a post-compromise privilege escalation vector rather than an initial access vulnerability.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: OpenShift 4.3.0 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0738
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update OpenShift to version 4.3.0 or later. 2. Update the operator-metering container to the patched version. 3. Restart affected containers and verify the fix.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Container Security Hardening
linuxImplement strict container security policies to limit access and privileges
oc adm policy add-scc-to-user restricted -z default
oc patch deployment/metering-operator -p '{"spec":{"template":{"spec":{"securityContext":{"runAsNonRoot":true}}}}}'
Network Segmentation
linuxIsolate operator-metering containers from untrusted networks
oc create networkpolicy deny-all --pod-selector=app=metering-operator --ingress='' --egress=''
oc label pods -l app=metering-operator network-restricted=true
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network policies to isolate the operator-metering container from other workloads
- Apply least privilege principles to container service accounts and remove unnecessary capabilities
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check OpenShift version: oc version, then verify if operator-metering container is running with vulnerable configurationCheck Version:
oc version | grep 'Server Version'Verify Fix Applied:
Verify OpenShift version is 4.3.0+: oc version, then check container image tags: oc get pods -l app=metering-operator -o jsonpath='{.items[*].spec.containers[*].image}'📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected modifications to /etc/passwd within containers
- Unusual privilege escalation attempts in container logs
- Suspicious access patterns to operator-metering containers
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected network connections to/from operator-metering containers
- Anomalous API calls to container runtime
SIEM Query:
container.runtime.name:docker AND event.action:modify AND file.path:/etc/passwd AND container.image.name:*operator-metering*