CVE-2011-2907 in TORQUE Resource Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Terascale Open-Source Resource and Queue Manager (aka TORQUE Resource Manager) 3.0.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass host-based authentication and submit arbitrary jobs via a modified PBS_O_HOST variable to the qsub program.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2907 affects the Terascale Open-Source Resource and Queue Manager TORQUE Resource Manager version 3.0.1 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw in cluster computing environments. This vulnerability resides within the job submission mechanism of TORQUE, specifically targeting the authentication and authorization processes that govern how jobs are submitted to the queue manager. The issue stems from insufficient validation of the PBS_O_HOST environment variable, which is used to identify the submitting host during job submission processes. When a malicious user manipulates this variable, they can effectively spoof their host identity and gain unauthorized access to the cluster resources.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the qsub program, which serves as the primary interface for job submission within TORQUE environments. By modifying the PBS_O_HOST variable, attackers can bypass the host-based authentication checks that are designed to verify the legitimacy of job submissions. This modification allows unauthorized users to submit jobs to the cluster as if they were legitimate hosts, effectively circumventing the security controls that protect against unauthorized access to computational resources. The flaw demonstrates a classic case of insufficient input validation and trust assumptions within the authentication mechanism, where the system blindly accepts the host identifier provided by the user without proper verification.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized job submission, as it enables attackers to potentially disrupt cluster operations, consume excessive computational resources, and gain access to sensitive data processed by the cluster. In high-value computing environments such as research institutions, government agencies, or financial organizations, this vulnerability could lead to significant resource exhaustion, data breaches, or denial of service conditions that affect legitimate users. The ability to submit arbitrary jobs also means that attackers could potentially execute malicious code or launch further attacks against the cluster infrastructure, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where cluster resources are shared among multiple users or organizations.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and demonstrates weaknesses in the principle of least privilege within the TORQUE Resource Manager authentication framework. From an ATT&CK perspective, this flaw maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence within cluster environments, as attackers can establish unauthorized access to computational resources that would normally require proper authentication. The vulnerability also reflects broader concerns about environment variable manipulation and trust relationships in distributed computing systems, where the integrity of system variables can be exploited to bypass security controls. Organizations should implement proper input validation for environment variables, enforce strict authentication mechanisms, and consider implementing additional monitoring and logging controls to detect unauthorized job submissions that could indicate exploitation of this vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include upgrading to TORQUE Resource Manager versions 3.0.2 and later, which contain patches addressing the PBS_O_HOST validation issue. System administrators should also implement network-level controls to restrict access to qsub and related programs, deploy proper monitoring of job submission activities, and establish strict access controls for cluster resources. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing environment variable sanitization mechanisms and regular security audits of their cluster configurations to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in other components of their distributed computing infrastructure.