CVE-2022-21679 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2022-21679
Vulnerability Scoring

6.8
/10
High Risk

If left unpatched, CVE-2022-21679 could lead to major system disruptions or data loss.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: High
    Exploits require significant effort and special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: Required
    User interaction is necessary for successful exploitation.

CVE-2022-21679 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕡 21 Nov 2024, 06:45 UTC
Originally published on: 🕙 19 Jan 2022, 22:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 1036 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

security-advisories@github.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVE-2022-21679 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2022-21679: Istio is an open platform to connect, manage, and secure microservices. In Istio 1.12.0 and 1.12.1 The authorization policy with hosts and notHosts might be accidentally bypassed for ALLOW action or rejected unexpectedly for DENY action during the upgrade from 1.11 to 1.12.0/1.12.1. Istio 1.12 supports the hosts and notHosts fields in authorization policy with a new Envoy API shipped with the 1.12 data plane. A bug in the 1.12.0 and 1.12.1 incorrectly uses the new Envoy API with the 1.11 data plane. This will cause the hosts and notHosts fields to be always matched regardless of the actual value of the host header when mixing 1.12.0/1.12.1 control plane and 1.11 data plane. Users are advised to upgrade or to not mix the 1.12.0/1.12.1 control plane with 1.11 data plane if using hosts or notHosts field in authorization policy.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2022-21679

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2022-21679 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2022-21679

CVE-2022-21679 presents a challenge to exploit due to its high attack complexity, but the absence of privilege requirements still makes it a viable target for skilled attackers. A thorough security review is advised.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2022-21679, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2022-21679, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: High
    Exploiting CVE-2022-21679 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: High
    CVE-2022-21679 could allow unauthorized modifications to data, potentially affecting system reliability and trust.
  • Availability: None
    CVE-2022-21679 does not impact system availability.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.235% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 61.98% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 38.02% of others.

CVE-2022-21679 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-670

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha0:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha0:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha5:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha5:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta0:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta0:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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