What is CVE-2022-23551?

CVE-2022-23551 is a medium-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity (go), affecting versions < 1.8.13. It is fixed in 1.8.13. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.

How severe is CVE-2022-23551?

CVE-2022-23551 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Which versions of github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity are affected by CVE-2022-23551?

github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity (go) versions < 1.8.13 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2022-23551?

Yes. CVE-2022-23551 is fixed in 1.8.13. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2022-23551 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2022-23551 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

What actually determines whether CVE-2022-23551 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

How do I fix CVE-2022-23551?

Upgrade github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity to 1.8.13 or later.

CVE-2022-23551 in github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity

Q: How severe is CVE-2022-23551?

CVE-2022-23551 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Q: Which versions of github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity are affected by CVE-2022-23551?

github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity (go) versions < 1.8.13 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2022-23551?

Yes. CVE-2022-23551 is fixed in 1.8.13. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2022-23551 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2022-23551 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2022-23551 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2022-23551?

Upgrade github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity to 1.8.13 or later.

Summary

AAD Pod Identity obtaining token with backslash

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in Azure/aad-pod-identity

Impact

What kind of vulnerability is it? Who is impacted?
The NMI component in AAD Pod Identity intercepts and validates token requests based on regex. In this case, a token request made with backslash in the request (example: /metadata/identity\oauth2\token/) would bypass the NMI validation and be sent to IMDS allowing a pod in the cluster to access identities that it shouldn't have access to.

The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions. Typical impact: unauthorized data access or execution of privileged operations.

CVE-2022-23551 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, high privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.8.13); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity (< 1.8.13)

Security releases

github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity → 1.8.13 (go)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

Has the problem been patched? What versions should users upgrade to?

We analyzed this bug and determined that we needed to fix it. This fix has been included in AAD Pod Identity release v1.8.13
If using the AKS pod-managed identities add-on, no action is required. The clusters should now be running the v1.8.13 release.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-23551? CVE-2022-23551 is a medium-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity (go), affecting versions < 1.8.13. It is fixed in 1.8.13. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
How severe is CVE-2022-23551? CVE-2022-23551 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
Which versions of github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity are affected by CVE-2022-23551? github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity (go) versions < 1.8.13 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2022-23551? Yes. CVE-2022-23551 is fixed in 1.8.13. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2022-23551 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-23551 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
What actually determines whether CVE-2022-23551 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
How do I fix CVE-2022-23551? Upgrade github.com/Azure/aad-pod-identity to 1.8.13 or later.