Vulnerabilities > CVE-2023-25165 - Information Exposure vulnerability in Helm

047910
CVSS 4.3 - MEDIUM
Attack vector
NETWORK
Attack complexity
LOW
Privileges required
LOW
Confidentiality impact
LOW
Integrity impact
NONE
Availability impact
NONE
network
low complexity
helm
CWE-200

Summary

Helm is a tool that streamlines installing and managing Kubernetes applications.`getHostByName` is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. The function is able to accept a hostname and return an IP address for that hostname. To get the IP address the function performs a DNS lookup. The DNS lookup happens when used with `helm install|upgrade|template` or when the Helm SDK is used to render a chart. Information passed into the chart can be disclosed to the DNS servers used to lookup the IP address. For example, a malicious chart could inject `getHostByName` into a chart in order to disclose values to a malicious DNS server. The issue has been fixed in Helm 3.11.1. Prior to using a chart with Helm verify the `getHostByName` function is not being used in a template to disclose any information you do not want passed to DNS servers.

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

  • Subverting Environment Variable Values
    The attacker directly or indirectly modifies environment variables used by or controlling the target software. The attacker's goal is to cause the target software to deviate from its expected operation in a manner that benefits the attacker.
  • Footprinting
    An attacker engages in probing and exploration activity to identify constituents and properties of the target. Footprinting is a general term to describe a variety of information gathering techniques, often used by attackers in preparation for some attack. It consists of using tools to learn as much as possible about the composition, configuration, and security mechanisms of the targeted application, system or network. Information that might be collected during a footprinting effort could include open ports, applications and their versions, network topology, and similar information. While footprinting is not intended to be damaging (although certain activities, such as network scans, can sometimes cause disruptions to vulnerable applications inadvertently) it may often pave the way for more damaging attacks.
  • Exploiting Trust in Client (aka Make the Client Invisible)
    An attack of this type exploits a programs' vulnerabilities in client/server communication channel authentication and data integrity. It leverages the implicit trust a server places in the client, or more importantly, that which the server believes is the client. An attacker executes this type of attack by placing themselves in the communication channel between client and server such that communication directly to the server is possible where the server believes it is communicating only with a valid client. There are numerous variations of this type of attack.
  • Browser Fingerprinting
    An attacker carefully crafts small snippets of Java Script to efficiently detect the type of browser the potential victim is using. Many web-based attacks need prior knowledge of the web browser including the version of browser to ensure successful exploitation of a vulnerability. Having this knowledge allows an attacker to target the victim with attacks that specifically exploit known or zero day weaknesses in the type and version of the browser used by the victim. Automating this process via Java Script as a part of the same delivery system used to exploit the browser is considered more efficient as the attacker can supply a browser fingerprinting method and integrate it with exploit code, all contained in Java Script and in response to the same web page request by the browser.
  • Session Credential Falsification through Prediction
    This attack targets predictable session ID in order to gain privileges. The attacker can predict the session ID used during a transaction to perform spoofing and session hijacking.