Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw affects kubectl cp, a Kubernetes file-copy feature. If a user copies files from a malicious or compromised container, the container’s tar behavior can cause files to be written outside the intended destination on the user’s machine, within that user’s permissions.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate operational risk. It is not documented here as actively exploited, but it can compromise administrator or automation hosts if staff copy files from hostile containers. Prioritize patched kubectl clients in privileged environments.
Technical view
kubectl cp extracts a tar archive produced inside the container. A malicious tar binary or crafted archive behavior can abuse symlink directory traversal during extraction, allowing arbitrary local file writes when the user initiates kubectl cp from the container. Affected Kubernetes versions are older than 1.12.9, 1.13.6, and 1.14.2, plus 1.1 through 1.11.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on administrator workstations, jump hosts, and CI systems using affected kubectl versions and copying files from untrusted or compromised containers. Impact is local to the machine running kubectl and limited by that user’s filesystem permissions.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires attacker influence over the container or tar behavior and user interaction: someone must run kubectl cp from that container.
Researcher notes
The key boundary is the operator machine, not the Kubernetes API server itself. Validate client-side tooling and workflows. The CVSS vector indicates high privileges and user interaction, so exposure depends heavily on who can influence containers and who runs kubectl cp.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade kubectl/Kubernetes clients to 1.12.9, 1.13.6, 1.14.2, or later supported releases.
- Avoid kubectl cp from untrusted, suspicious, or compromised containers until clients are fixed.
- Inventory CI runners, admin laptops, and bastion hosts for affected kubectl versions.
- Restrict cluster users who can access or copy from sensitive workloads.
- Review Kubernetes and vendor advisories for environment-specific guidance.
Validation and detection
- Check kubectl versions used by administrators, automation, and CI systems.
- Compare discovered versions against the affected version ranges in the CVE record.
- Review scripts and runbooks that copy files from containers using kubectl cp.
- Identify whether file copies occur from third-party, user-controlled, or incident-response containers.
- Confirm patched clients are deployed before resuming risky copy workflows.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-61: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupContainer behavior lookup
The affected technology mentions containers, so container-specific ATT&CK technique review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-11246 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.4 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H0.55.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
6.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/76788CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- [ANNOUNCE] Incomplete fixes for CVE-2019-1002101, kubectl cp potential directory traversal - CVE-2019-11246CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190919-0003/CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following
UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.