# CVE-2020-1701: Permissions bypass in KubeVirt

> An attacker with VM creation privileges can read arbitrary secrets in their namespace due to improper access permissions in KubeVirt virt-handler.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 May 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-849r-8wvp-4wwg, GO-2024-2765

## What is CVE-2020-1701?

CVE-2020-1701 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in virt-handler, published on 27 May 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in the KubeVirt main virt-handler versions before 0.26.0 regarding the access permissions of virt-handler. An attacker with access to create VMs could attach any secret within their namespace, allowing them to read the contents of that secret.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-1701?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including kubevirt.io/kubevirt. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `kubevirt.io/kubevirt` | Go | All versions | 0.26.0 |
| `kubevirt.io/kubevirt` | Go | All versions | 0.26.0 |
| `kubevirt.io/kubevirt` | Go | All versions | 0.26.0 |

Products: Kubevirt Kubevirt.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-1701?

Upgrade kubevirt.io/kubevirt to 0.26.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2020-1701 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-1701 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in virt-handler

- [CVE-2020-14316](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14316/): Privilege Escalation in kubevirt (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2022-1798](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-1798/): Path Traversal vulnerability in Kubevirt (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2025-64324](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-64324/): KubeVirt Vulnerable to Arbitrary Host File Read and Write (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2023-26484](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-26484/): On a compromised KubeVirt node, the virt-handler service account can be used to modify all node specs (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-13201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13201/): Path traversal in Red Hat Container Native Virtualization 4.12 (high 7.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-1701 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-1701 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in virt-handler, published on 27 May 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-1701 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- kubevirt.io/kubevirt (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.26.0
- kubevirt.io/kubevirt (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.26.0
- kubevirt.io/kubevirt (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.26.0

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1701/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1701/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-1701
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1701
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-1701

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1701/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.