Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This Kubernetes issue can leak storage credentials into error messages when AzureFile or CephFS volume mounts fail. The business risk is credential exposure through logs or events, not direct takeover. Impact is most relevant where affected clusters still run old Kubernetes versions and many users or tools can read cluster events or logs.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted credential-exposure cleanup item. Prioritize legacy Kubernetes clusters, storage-heavy environments, and clusters with broad log visibility. It is not KEV-listed in the provided sources, but leaked storage credentials can create secondary access risk if retained in logs.
Technical view
kube-controller-manager in Kubernetes v1.0-v1.17 may expose credentials in mount failure logs and events for AzureFile and CephFS volumes. The CVE maps to CWE-209 and has CVSS 3.1 score 5.9, with high confidentiality impact, low integrity impact, high attack complexity, and low privileges required.
Likely exposure
Likely exposure is limited to affected Kubernetes clusters using AzureFile or CephFS volumes, especially when mount failures occurred and event or log data is broadly readable or centrally retained. The source bundle has a minor version-list inconsistency: the description says v1.0-v1.17, while affected entries list v1.6-v1.17.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Practical abuse would require access to relevant Kubernetes events, kube-controller-manager logs, or downstream log systems containing failed mount messages. The vulnerability is information disclosure, not an unauthenticated remote code execution path.
Researcher notes
Evidence is source-limited to the CVE description, CVSS metadata, affected Kubernetes versions, CWE-209, KEV=false, and Kubernetes PR #88684. Do not assume affected storage backends beyond AzureFile and CephFS. Validate by configuration, version, volume type, and log accessibility rather than by internet exposure alone.
Mitigation direction
- Check Kubernetes guidance and PR #88684 for fixed-version direction.
- Upgrade affected Kubernetes clusters according to vendor guidance.
- Restrict access to Kubernetes events, controller logs, and centralized log stores.
- Rotate AzureFile or CephFS credentials if exposed in historical failure logs.
- Reduce retention of sensitive operational logs where business requirements allow.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Kubernetes clusters running versions in the affected range.
- Identify workloads or persistent volumes using AzureFile or CephFS.
- Review historical mount failure events and logs for credential exposure.
- Confirm who can read events, controller logs, and log aggregation systems.
- Verify upgraded clusters no longer emit credentials in mount failure messages.
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-209: Information exposure and cloud metadata lookup
Information exposure and SSRF weaknesses can make discovery, cloud metadata, and credential material review relevant. 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access 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-2019-11252 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
- 5.9 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
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:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N1.64.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.9MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/88684CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.