CVE-2025-53542 Kubernetes Headlamp Allows Arbitrary Command Injection in macOS Process headlamp@codeSign
An attacker can execute arbitrary commands on macOS via unsanitized environment variables in the Headlamp codeSign script.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2025-53542?
CVE-2025-53542 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in kubernetes-sigs headlamp, published on 10 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Headlamp is an extensible Kubernetes web UI. A command injection vulnerability was discovered in the codeSign.js script used in the macOS packaging workflow of the Kubernetes Headlamp project. This issue arises due to the improper use of Node.js's execSync() function with unsanitized input derived from environment variables, which can be influenced by an attacker. The variables ${teamID}, ${entitlementsPath}, and ${config.app} are dynamically derived from the environment or application config and passed directly to the shell command without proper escaping or argument separation. This exposes the system to command injection if any of the values contain malicious input. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.31.1.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-53542?
How do I fix CVE-2025-53542?
No fix has been published for CVE-2025-53542 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.
Is CVE-2025-53542 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-53542 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-34rf-485x-g5h7.