CVE-2025-1974
CriticalExploitedPublic exploitingress-nginx admission controller RCE escalation
Published Mar 25, 2025 · Updated Sep 22, 2026 · Also known as GHSA-mgvx-rpfc-9mpv, GO-2025-3567
Key Facts
Patch immediately- CVE-2025-1974 is a critical-severity vulnerability (CVSS 9.8 v3.1) affecting ingress-nginx-controller-1.11 (chainguard), ingress-nginx-controller-1.12 (chainguard), ingress-nginx-controller-1.13 (chainguard) and 17 more products.
- It is exploited in the wild, listed in Industry KEV feed since Mar 25, 2025. Public exploit code is available.
- EPSS estimates a 99% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- Fixed versions are available, including govulncheck-vulndb 0.0.20250327T184518-1.1, ingress-nginx-controller-1.11 1.11.5-r0, ingress-nginx-controller-1.12 1.12.1-r14.
- Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is listed as exploited in the wild.
CVSS v3.1
9.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS (30-day exploit likelihood)
99%
Higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs
Exploited in the wild
Yes
1 catalog listing
Public exploit code
Available
Proof-of-concept or weaponized module
Get the full CVE-2025-1974 brief as a PDF
Every affected product and fixed release, exploitation status and a first 24 hours response checklist, emailed within minutes.
Description
A security issue was discovered in Kubernetes where under certain conditions, an unauthenticated attacker with access to the pod network can achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the ingress-nginx controller. This can lead to disclosure of Secrets accessible to the controller. (Note that in the default installation, the controller can access all Secrets cluster-wide.)
Known-Exploited Catalog Listings
| Catalog | Added | Remediation due | Ransomware use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry KEV feed | Mar 25, 2025 | n/a | Not reported |
Required action: Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.
Affected Products
23 affected entries in total| Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| ingress-nginx-controller-1.11chainguard | See advisory | 1.11.5-r0 |
| ingress-nginx-controller-1.12chainguard | See advisory | 1.12.1-r14 |
| ingress-nginx-controller-1.13chainguard | See advisory | 1.13.9-r14 |
| ingress-nginx-controller-1.14chainguard | See advisory | 1.14.5-r27 |
| ingress-nginx-controller-fips-1.11chainguard | See advisory | 1.11.5-r0 |
Patched Releases
govulncheck-vulndb
0.0.20250327T184518-1.1
ingress-nginx-controller-1.11
1.11.5-r0
ingress-nginx-controller-1.12
1.12.1-r14
ingress-nginx-controller-1.13
1.13.9-r14
ingress-nginx-controller-1.14
1.14.5-r16, 1.14.5-r27
ingress-nginx-controller-fips-1.11
1.11.5-r0
ingress-nginx-controller-fips-1.12
1.12.1-r0
ingress-nginx-controller-fips-1.13
1.13.9-r12
ingress-nginx-controller-fips-1.14
1.14.5-r12
k8s.io/ingress-nginx
1.11.5, 1.12.1
rke2
1.32.3+rke2r1-1.1
rke2-1.29
1.29.15+rke2r1-1.1
rke2-1.30
1.30.11+rke2r1-1.1
rke2-1.31
1.31.7+rke2r1-1.1
rke2-1.32
1.32.4+rke2r1-1.1
rke2-1.33
1.33.5+rke2r1-1.1
rke2-1.34
1.34.3+rke2r1-1.1
rke2-1.35
1.35.4+rke2r1-1.1
rke2-1.36
1.36.4+rke2r1-1.1
Timeline
Publicly disclosed
Mar 25, 2025
Added to Industry KEV feed
Mar 25, 2025
Last updated
Sep 22, 2026
Weakness Type
- CWE-653 Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization
References
- advisoryGHSA advisory
- advisoryhttps://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2025/1xxx/CVE-2025-1974.json
- advisoryhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-1974
- exploitVulnCheck exploitation report
- exploitExploitDB-52338
FAQ
Common Questions.
A security issue was discovered in Kubernetes where under certain conditions, an unauthenticated attacker with access to the pod network can achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the ingress-nginx controller.
Affected: ingress-nginx-controller-1.11 (chainguard); ingress-nginx-controller-1.12 (chainguard); ingress-nginx-controller-1.13 (chainguard), among others. The full list is in the CVE brief.
It is exploited in the wild, listed in Industry KEV feed since Mar 25, 2025.
No, it is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Public exploit code is available.
Fixed versions are available, including govulncheck-vulndb 0.0.20250327T184518-1.1, ingress-nginx-controller-1.11 1.11.5-r0, ingress-nginx-controller-1.12 1.12.1-r14.
Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is listed as exploited in the wild.
Is CVE-2025-1974 Running On Your Attack Surface?
Brandefense maps vulnerabilities like this one to your internet-facing assets and tells you exactly where to patch.
Request A Demo