CVE-2020-8564 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) CWE-532 vulnerability in github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes. A fix is available for github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Kubernetes Sensitive Information leak via Log File
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2020-8564 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes🐹github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes🐹github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes🐹k8s.io/kubernetesReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In Kubernetes clusters using a logging level of at least 4, processing a malformed docker config file will result in the contents of the docker config file being leaked, which can include pull secrets or other registry credentials. This affects < v1.19.3, < v1.18.10, < v1.17.13.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes | ≥ 1.19.0&&< 1.19.3 | 1.19.3go get github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes@v1.19.3 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes | ≥ 1.18.0&&< 1.18.10 | 1.18.10go get github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes@v1.18.10 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes | all versions | 1.17.13go get github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes@v1.17.13 |
| 🐹Go | k8s.io/kubernetes | all versions | 1.20.0-alpha.1go get k8s.io/kubernetes@v1.20.0-alpha.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes to 1.19.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-8564 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2020-8564 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2020-8564. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 | atomic-openshift-0:3.11.501-1.git.0.f8c4746.el7 | RHSA-2021:3193 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.4 | openshift4/ose-docker-builder:v4.4.0-202101261542.p0 | RHSA-2021:0281 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.5 | openshift4/ose-docker-builder:v4.5.0-202012050338.p0 | RHSA-2020:5359 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 | openshift-clients-0:4.6.0-202010081244.p0.git.3794.4743d24.el7 | RHSA-2020:4297 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 | openshift-0:4.6.0-202101160934.p0.git.94242.fc5242e.el7 | RHSA-2021:0172 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 | openshift4/ose-docker-builder:v4.6.0-202012050130.p0 | RHSA-2020:5259 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.6 | openshift4/ose-hyperkube:v4.6.0-202101160934.p0 | RHSA-2021:0171 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-8564 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2020-8564 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.