# CVE-2020-1704: Privilege escalation in openshift-service-mesh/kiali-rhel7-operator

> An attacker with container access can modify /etc/passwd to escalate privileges in OpenShift Service Mesh.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q483-wcf8-3hjc

## What is CVE-2020-1704?

CVE-2020-1704 is a high-severity vulnerability in Red Hat openshift-service-mesh/kiali-rhel7-operator, published on 17 Feb 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An insecure modification vulnerability in the /etc/passwd file was found in all versions of OpenShift ServiceMesh (maistra) before 1.0.8 in the openshift/istio-kialia-rhel7-operator-container. An attacker with access to the container could use this flaw to modify /etc/passwd and escalate their privileges.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource), CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-1704?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Redhat Openshift Service Mesh.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-1704?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-1704 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-1704 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-1704 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Red Hat openshift-service-mesh/kiali-rhel7-operator

- [CVE-2021-3586](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3586/): Misconfiguration in servicemesh-operator (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-0752](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0752/): Envoyproxy: openshift service mesh envoy http header sanitization bypass leading to dos and unauthorized access (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-1704 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-1704 is a high-severity vulnerability in Red Hat openshift-service-mesh/kiali-rhel7-operator, published on 17 Feb 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-1704 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat openshift-service-mesh/kiali-rhel7-operator. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2020-1704/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1704/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-1704
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1704
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-1704

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1704/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.