GHSA-7vww-mvcr-x6vj
Traefik Inverted TLS Verification Logic in ingress-nginx Provider
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | github.com/traefik/traefik/v3 | >= 3.5.0, < 3.6.3 | 3.6.3 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
## Impact
There is a potential vulnerability in Traefik NGINX provider managing the `nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-ssl-verify` annotation.
The provider inverts the semantics of the `nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-ssl-verify` annotation. Setting the annotation to `"on"` (intending to enable backend TLS certificate verification) actually disables verification, allowing man-in-the-middle attacks against HTTPS backends when operators believe they are protected.
## Patches
- https://github.com/traefik/traefik/releases/tag/v3.6.3
## For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please [open an issue](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/issues).
<details>
<summary>Original Description</summary>
### Summary
A logic error in Traefik's experimental ingress-nginx provider inverts the semantics of the `nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-ssl-verify` annotation. Setting the annotation to `"on"` (intending to enable backend TLS certificate verification) actually disables verification, allowing man-in-the-middle attacks against HTTPS backends when operators believe they are protected.
### Details
In `pkg/provider/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/kubernetes.go` at line 512, the `InsecureSkipVerify` field is set using inverted logic:
```go
nst := &namedServersTransport{
Name: provider.Normalize(namespace + "-" + name),
ServersTransport: &dynamic.ServersTransport{
ServerName: ptr.Deref(cfg.ProxySSLName, ptr.Deref(cfg.ProxySSLServerName, "")),
InsecureSkipVerify: strings.ToLower(ptr.Deref(cfg.ProxySSLVerify, "off")) == "on",
},
}
```
The expression `== "on"` evaluates to `true` when the annotation is `"on"`, setting `InsecureSkipVerify: true`. In Go's `crypto/tls`, `InsecureSkipVerify: true` means "do not verify the server's certificate" — the opposite of what `proxy-ssl-verify: "on"` should do according to NGINX semantics.
**Current behavior:**
| Annotation Value | InsecureSkipVerify | Actual Result |
|------------------|-------------------|---------------|
| `"on"` | `true` | Verification **disabled** ❌ |
| `"off"` (default) | `false` | Verification **enabled** |
**Expected behavior (per NGINX semantics):**
| Annotation Value | InsecureSkipVerify | Expected Result |
|------------------|-------------------|-----------------|
| `"on"` | `false` | Verification **enabled** |
| `"off"` (default) | `true` | Verification **disabled** |
The test in `pkg/provider/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/kubernetes_test.go` lines 397-403 confirms this inverted behavior is codified as "expected":
```go
ServersTransports: map[string]*dynamic.ServersTransport{
"default-ingress-with-proxy-ssl": {
ServerName: "whoami.localhost",
InsecureSkipVerify: true, // Wrong: should be false when annotation is "on"
RootCAs: []types.FileOrContent{"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----"},
},
},
```
**Affected versions:** v3.5.0 through current master (introduced in commit `9bd5c617820f2a8d23b50b68d114bb7bc464eccd`)
Pavel Kohout
Aisle Research
</details>
-
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.