Security Digest · Vulnerability record
CVE-2025-24513: ingress-nginx controller - auth secret file path traversal vulnerability
A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx https://github.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx where attacker-provided data are included in a filename by the ingress-nginx Admission Controller feature, resulting in directory traversal within the container.
CVSS 4.8 Medium EPSS 3.3% · p89 Check exposure
Should you act?
Normal patch cycle
No exploitation signal; fix it in your next routine update if you are affected. 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 3.3%, percentile 89: FIRST’s model estimates a 3.3% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 89% of all scored CVEs (elevated). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
- 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 attacker-provided data are included in a filename by the ingress-nginx Admission Controller feature, resulting in directory traversal within the container. This could result in denial of service, or when combined with other vulnerabilities, limited disclosure of Secret objects from the cluster.
Weakness type: CWE-20.
Product: kubernetes ingress-nginx · Assigned by: kubernetes · Published: 2025-03-24
Affected and fixed versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions (per CVE record) |
|---|---|---|
| kubernetes | ingress-nginx | <= 1.11.4, 1.12.0 |
Severity scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| kubernetes | 3.1 | 4.8 Medium | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L |
- Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
- Attack complexity: high (needs special conditions)
- Privileges required: none (no login)
- 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 partial.
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 3.33% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 89.
Timeline
- — CVE record published by kubernetes
- — erroneo.us brief: IngressNightmare: ingress-nginx Cluster Takeover RCE
- — CVE record last updated
Sources and references
Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.
Vulnerability records
- CVE.org record CVE-2025-24513 cve.org
- NVD entry CVE-2025-24513 nvd.nist.gov
Other references from the CVE record and advisory
- github.com github.com
- security.netapp.com security.netapp.com