CVE-2025-67508 is a command injection vulnerability classified under CWE-77 affecting gardenctl-v2, a command-line client for the Gardener project that manages Kubernetes clusters and cloud provider CLI tools. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions 2.11.0 and earlier. It manifests when gardenctl is used in non-POSIX shell environments such as Fish and PowerShell. An attacker with administrative privileges within a Gardener project can craft malicious credential values that are stored in infrastructure Secret objects. These credential values are not properly neutralized, allowing them to break out of their intended string context when evaluated by Fish or PowerShell shells used by Gardener service operators. This improper neutralization enables command injection, potentially allowing arbitrary commands to be executed with the privileges of the user running gardenctl. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.0 score of 8.0, indicating high severity, with attack vector being network-based but requiring low privileges (administrative within the project) and user interaction. The scope is changed, affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. The issue is resolved in gardenctl-v2 version 2.12.0, which properly sanitizes credential values to prevent command injection in these shell environments.

For European organizations using Gardener and gardenctl-v2, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary command execution within the infrastructure managing Kubernetes clusters, potentially compromising cluster configurations, leaking sensitive credentials, or disrupting cloud infrastructure operations. Given the high privileges required (administrative within a Gardener project), the threat is more relevant to organizations with complex multi-tenant Kubernetes environments or those delegating administrative access. The impact spans confidentiality (exposure of secrets), integrity (unauthorized changes to cluster or cloud configurations), and availability (potential disruption of cluster operations). This could affect cloud service providers, managed Kubernetes platforms, and enterprises relying on Gardener for cluster lifecycle management. The use of Fish and PowerShell shells in operational environments increases the attack surface. The lack of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as the vulnerability is publicly disclosed.

European organizations should immediately upgrade gardenctl-v2 to version 2.12.0 or later to apply the official fix. Until the upgrade is possible, restrict administrative privileges within Gardener projects to trusted personnel only, minimizing the risk of malicious credential injection. Audit existing infrastructure Secret objects for suspicious or malformed credential values that could exploit this vulnerability. Avoid using non-POSIX shells such as Fish and PowerShell for gardenctl operations, or enforce strict input validation and sanitization when interacting with credential data in these environments. Implement monitoring and alerting for unusual command execution patterns or shell activity related to gardenctl usage. Additionally, enforce multi-factor authentication and strong access controls on Gardener administrative interfaces to reduce the likelihood of privilege abuse. Regularly review and rotate credentials stored in infrastructure Secrets to limit exposure.