Eclipse Ankaios vulnerability

In Eclipse Ankaios versions 0.1.0 through 1.0.2, the agent creates workload files and Control Interface named pipes (FIFOs) under a predictable path derived from the agent name and a hash of the workload's runtime configuration. If a directory or FIFO already exists at that path when the agent (re)starts, the agent reuses it based only on an existence and/or file-type check, without validating its owner or permissions. A local, unprivileged user with write access to the same base directory (by default under `$TMPDIR/ankaios`, e.g. shared `/tmp`) can pre-create this path hierarchy, including the two Control Interface FIFOs, before the agent starts. The agent then treats the attacker-owned FIFOs as the legitimate Control Interface for the targeted workload. The attacker can complete the Control Interface handshake and issue requests using that workload's configured `controlInterfaceAccess` permissions, allowing impersonation of the workload and, depending on its configured permissions, unauthorized reading and/or modification of the cluster's desired state.

Published 14 Sep 2026Updated 15 Sep 20263 sources
CVSS 8.4

What happened

In Eclipse Ankaios versions 0.1.0 through 1.0.2, the agent creates workload files and Control Interface named pipes (FIFOs) under a predictable path derived from the agent name and a hash of the workload's runtime configuration. If a directory or FIFO already exists at that path when the agent (re)starts, the agent reuses it based only on an existence and/or file-type check, without validating its owner or permissions. A local, unprivileged user with write access to the same base directory (by default under `$TMPDIR/ankaios`, e.g. shared `/tmp`) can pre-create this path hierarchy, including the two Control Interface FIFOs, before the agent starts. The agent then treats the attacker-owned FIFOs as the legitimate Control Interface for the targeted workload. The attacker can complete the Control Interface handshake and issue requests using that workload's configured `controlInterfaceAccess` permissions, allowing impersonation of the workload and, depending on its configured permissions, unauthorized reading and/or modification of the cluster's desired state.

Affected versions

Eclipse Ankaios: 0.1.0 through 1.0.2 (semver) Fixed: See vendor advisory.

Why it matters

Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.

Detection & mitigation

  • Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
  • Review affected product exposure and access logs.

Public PoC references

No public PoC reference has passed the current publication threshold.