CVE-2022-21701 | Privileged Escalation in Istio

Istio is an open platform to connect, manage, and secure microservices. In versions 1.12.0 and 1.12.1 Istio is vulnerable to a privilege escalation attack. Users who have `CREATE` permission for `gateways.gateway.networking.k8s.io` objects can escalate this privilege to create other resources that they may not have access to, such as `Pod`. This vulnerability impacts only an Alpha level feature, the Kubernetes Gateway API. This is not the same as the Istio Gateway type (gateways.networking.istio.io), which is not vulnerable. Users are advised to upgrade to resolve this issue. Users unable to upgrade should implement any of the following which will prevent this vulnerability: Remove the gateways.gateway.networking.k8s.io CustomResourceDefinition, set PILOT_ENABLE_GATEWAY_API_DEPLOYMENT_CONTROLLER=true environment variable in Istiod, or remove CREATE permissions for gateways.gateway.networking.k8s.io objects from untrusted users.

Published: 2022-01-19 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-21701 is rated Low Risk (38.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.77%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-21701

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.22% 0.77% +0.54%
2 2025-03-30 0.57% 0.22% -0.34%
3 2025-03-29 — 0.57% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-21701

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.0 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 1.6 3.4 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
6.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 6.8 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-21701

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-21701

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-21701

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-21701

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
istio istio 1.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
istio istio 1.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha0:*:*:*:*:*:*
istio istio 1.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha1:*:*:*:*:*:*
istio istio 1.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:alpha5:*:*:*:*:*:*
istio istio 1.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta0:*:*:*:*:*:*
istio istio 1.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
istio istio 1.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
istio istio 1.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
istio istio 1.12.1 cpe:2.3:a:istio:istio:1.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-21701

cvelogic Threat Intelligence