CVE-2010-3223 in Windows
Summary
by MITRE
The user interface in Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS) in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 does not properly set administrative-share permissions for new cluster disks that are shared as part of a failover cluster, which allows remote attackers to read or modify data on these disks via requests to the associated share, aka "Permissions on New Cluster Disks Vulnerability."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/21/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2010-3223 represents a critical access control flaw within Microsoft Cluster Service functionality on Windows Server 2008 R2 systems. This issue specifically affects the failover clustering implementation where cluster disks are created and shared across multiple nodes in a cluster configuration. The flaw manifests in the improper initialization of administrative share permissions for newly created cluster disks, creating a persistent security weakness that undermines the integrity of cluster-based data storage solutions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient permission setting mechanism within the MSCS component during cluster disk creation processes. When new cluster disks are provisioned as part of a failover cluster configuration, the system fails to properly establish restrictive share permissions that would normally be applied to administrative shares. This misconfiguration allows remote attackers to establish connections to these shares without proper authentication or authorization, effectively bypassing the intended security boundaries that should protect cluster data from unauthorized access. The vulnerability operates at the share level permissions, specifically affecting the administrative share mechanisms that Microsoft uses to manage cluster resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations utilizing Windows Server 2008 R2 failover clusters for critical data services. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized read access to cluster disk contents, potentially obtaining sensitive business data, configuration information, or other protected resources stored within the cluster environment. Additionally, the vulnerability allows for modification of cluster disk data, enabling attackers to corrupt or manipulate critical information, disrupt cluster operations, or establish persistence within the environment. This creates a substantial risk for data integrity and availability, particularly in mission-critical applications that depend on failover clustering for high availability.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-264, which addresses permissions, privileges, and access control issues in software systems. From an adversarial perspective, this weakness maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1074 for data staging and T1005 for data from local system, as attackers can leverage the improperly configured shares to access sensitive cluster data. Organizations with multiple cluster nodes are particularly at risk since the vulnerability affects the share permissions that are typically used for inter-node communication and cluster management operations. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires no local access or elevated privileges on the target system, making it exploitable from any network location with access to the cluster shares.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate permission hardening of cluster shares and implementation of network segmentation controls. Microsoft released a security update that addresses the specific permission setting issue in MSCS, and organizations should ensure this patch is deployed across all affected Windows Server 2008 R2 systems. Network administrators should implement additional controls such as restricting access to cluster shares through firewall rules, disabling unnecessary share access, and implementing monitoring for unusual share access patterns. Regular security audits of cluster configurations should verify that administrative shares are properly secured and that no unauthorized access paths exist. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing principle of least privilege for cluster resource access and regularly review share permissions as part of their overall security posture assessment.