Security Digest · Vulnerability record

CVE-2025-1098: ingress-nginx controller - configuration injection via unsanitized mirror annotations

A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx https://github.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx where the mirror-target and mirror-host Ingress annotations can be used to inject arbitrary configuration into nginx.

CVSS 8.8 High EPSS 82.3% · p99.7 Check exposure

Should you act?

High exploit likelihood

EPSS ranks it in the top 5% of all CVEs for likely exploitation in the next 30 days. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

  • No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
  • EPSS 82.3%, percentile 99.7: FIRST’s model estimates a 82.3% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 99.7% of all scored CVEs (very high). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
  • Needs an account (low (any account)). Exposure depends on who can log in.
  • Editorial verdict: Check exposure. IngressNightmare: ingress-nginx Cluster Takeover RCE — Patched since March 2025. If any cluster still runs ingress-nginx below 1.11.5 or 1.12.1, that is a cluster-takeover risk, and the controller itself is now retired, so plan the migration while you check.

What it is

A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx https://github.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx where the mirror-target and mirror-host Ingress annotations can be used to inject arbitrary configuration into nginx. This can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the ingress-nginx controller, and disclosure of Secrets accessible to the controller. (Note that in the default installation, the controller can access all Secrets cluster-wide.)

Weakness type: CWE-20.

Product: kubernetes ingress-nginx · Assigned by: kubernetes · Published: 2025-03-24

Affected and fixed versions

VendorProductAffected versions (per CVE record)
kubernetesingress-nginx<= 1.11.4, 1.12.0

Severity scores

Scored byCVSSScoreVector
kubernetes3.18.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
  • Attack complexity: low
  • Privileges required: low (any account)
  • User interaction: none
  • Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

  • CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
  • CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact total.
  • FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 82.31% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 99.7.

Timeline

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

  1. CVE.org record CVE-2025-1098 cve.org
  2. NVD entry CVE-2025-1098 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

  1. github.com github.com
  2. security.netapp.com security.netapp.com
  3. exploit-db.com exploit-db.com

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