Executive brief
Tigera Calico, a networking and security solution for Kubernetes, contains a vulnerability in its optional debug server. When this debug feature is manually enabled, it exposes sensitive internal process information to any other application within the same cluster without requiring a password. An attacker could use this to steal sensitive data from the system's memory or learn details about how the network security software is configured, potentially leading to further attacks.
Technical details
The vulnerability exists in the Calico kube-controllers and Goldmane components when the debug profile port (debugProfilePort or PROFILE_PORT) is enabled. The Go pprof debug listener binds to 0.0.0.0 instead of localhost and lacks authentication. An attacker with network reachability from another pod within the cluster can access the /debug/pprof/ endpoints to retrieve process heaps, goroutine stacks, and command-line arguments. This can lead to the exposure of sensitive material residing in memory. The issue has been addressed by changing the default binding to localhost, requiring tools like kubectl port-forward for remote access.
Affected products
- Tigera Calico Open Source < 3.31.6, 3.32.0 - 3.32.1
- Tigera Calico Enterprise < 3.21.7, 3.22.0 - 3.22.4
- Tigera Calico Cloud < 22.4.0
Timeline
- 2026-04-15: patched: Initial fix submitted to master branch
- 2026-07-30: disclosed: Security bulletin TTA-2026-004 published
- 2026-07-30: advisory: NVD advisory published