Misconfigured Apache Pinot setups are putting enterprise data at risk—Microsoft researchers have now confirmed that attackers are actively exploiting these flaws to access sensitive information.
Apache Pinot, the open-source analytics engine powering real-time dashboards for major companies like LinkedIn, Uber, Walmart, and Slack, has a hidden weakness. According to Microsoft, Kubernetes deployments of Pinot often come with dangerously insecure defaults. These flaws allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to Pinot dashboards and query large volumes of stored data—without ever needing to log in.
Microsoft’s recent investigation into Kubernetes security revealed a troubling trend: Pinot’s official documentation does not adequately warn users that default settings expose its components to the public internet. More concerning, these components are often left unprotected by any authentication mechanisms.
In practical terms, this means a threat actor could remotely access Pinot dashboards, execute queries on live data, and even manipulate workloads. Microsoft has already observed real-world cases where attackers exploited misconfigured Pinot environments to siphon off sensitive user data.
This isn’t just about Pinot. The report also highlights how cloud applications like Meshery, used for managing cloud-native infrastructure, are equally vulnerable. Researchers identified a flaw in Meshery that could let attackers execute arbitrary code and take control of the system—if they can access the externally exposed IP address. Microsoft advises securing Meshery by limiting access to internal networks only.
The broader issue, Microsoft warns, lies in default misconfigurations across containerized environments. When organizations deploy tools like Pinot or Meshery without modifying out-of-the-box settings, they leave critical systems exposed—especially when those defaults skip basic protections like authentication.
“Many attacks in the wild stem from default misconfigurations,” Microsoft emphasized, urging DevOps and cloud teams to review their Kubernetes workloads and lock down any publicly exposed services.
