CVE-2025-1097 — ingress-nginx
HIGHCVE-2025-1097 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in k8s.io/ingress-nginx. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for k8s.io/ingress-nginx — see the affected versions and patch details below.
ingress-nginx controller - configuration injection via unsanitized auth-tls-match-cn annotation
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-1097.
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-2025-1097 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 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
k8s.io/ingress-nginx🐹k8s.io/ingress-nginxReal-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
A security issue was discovered in ingress-nginx https://github.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx where the auth-tls-match-cn Ingress annotation can be used to inject configuration into nginx. This can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the ingress-nginx controller, and disclosure of Secrets accessible to the controller. (Note that in the default installation, the controller can access all Secrets cluster-wide.)
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | k8s.io/ingress-nginx | all versions | 1.11.5go get k8s.io/ingress-nginx@v1.11.5 |
| 🐹Go | k8s.io/ingress-nginx | ≥ 1.12.0-beta.0&&< 1.12.1 | 1.12.1go get k8s.io/ingress-nginx@v1.12.1 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Ingress-NGINX Admission Controller v1.11.1 - FD Injection to RCE
by Beatriz Fresno Naumova · Feb 4, 2026
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for k8s.io/ingress-nginx, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update k8s.io/ingress-nginx to 1.11.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2025-1097 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-2025-1097 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2025-1097. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect CVE-2025-1097
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2025-1097 -u https://target- Template
- Ingress-Nginx Controller - Configuration Injection via Unsanitized `auth-tls-match-cn` Annotation
- Severity
- high
- Impact
- Authenticated users with Ingress creation permissions can inject nginx configuration through the auth-tls-match-cn annotation, leading to arbitrary code execution in the ingress-nginx controller context and disclosure of all Kubernetes Secrets cluster-wide.
- Remediation
- Upgrade to the patched version of ingress-nginx that properly sanitizes the auth-tls-match-cn annotation.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (iamnoooob, rootxharsh, pdresearch), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-1097 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2025-1097 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.