Submariner-operator: operator clusterrole grants cluster-wide create/update on all configmaps

Overview

A flaw was found in the Submariner operator. This vulnerability allows for the exposure of a long-lived broker service account (SA) bearer token within the Submariner Custom Resource (CR) specification. An attacker with access to the cluster's etcd database or through kubectl get commands could obtain this token. The possession of this token grants full control over the mesh network, enabling unauthorized management of network resources such as endpoints and secrets.

Affected

• rhacm2/subctl-rhel9 (all versions)
• rhacm2/submariner-rhel9-operator (all versions)
• rhacm2/subctl-rhel9 (all versions)
• rhacm2/submariner-rhel9-operator (all versions)
• rhacm2/submariner-addon-rhel9 (all versions)
• rhacm2/submariner-operator-bundle (all versions)

Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

Workarounds

To mitigate this issue, ensure that access to Submariner Custom Resources (CRs) is strictly controlled. Implement Kubernetes Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) policies to limit read access to Submariner CRs only to authorized administrators and components that explicitly require it. This reduces the risk of unauthorized disclosure of the broker Service Account bearer token, which may be stored in cleartext within the CR's specification field. Review existing RBAC configurations to ensure least privilege is applied to resources containing sensitive information.