CVE-2012-2696 in Enterprise Virtualization Manager
Summary
by MITRE
The backend in Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager (RHEV-M) before 3.1 does not properly check privileges, which allows remote authenticated users to query arbitrary information via a (1) SOAP or (2) GWT request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/21/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-2696 affects Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager versions prior to 3.1, representing a critical privilege escalation issue within the system's backend architecture. This flaw stems from inadequate authorization checks that permit authenticated users to bypass normal access controls and retrieve sensitive information through legitimate system interfaces. The vulnerability specifically impacts the management layer of the virtualization platform, where proper authentication mechanisms exist but insufficient authorization validation allows malicious actors to exploit the system's trust model.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves two primary attack vectors through SOAP and GWT (Google Web Toolkit) protocols that form the communication backbone of RHEV-M's administrative interface. When authenticated users submit requests through these interfaces, the system fails to properly validate whether the requesting user possesses adequate privileges for the specific information being requested. This oversight creates a path where users can craft malicious requests that traverse the normal authorization boundaries, effectively allowing information disclosure attacks against the virtualization management infrastructure.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability exposes organizations to significant risks including unauthorized data access, potential system reconnaissance, and information gathering that could lead to more sophisticated attacks. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as attackers could potentially map the virtualization environment, identify running virtual machines, gather configuration details, and uncover system architecture information that would aid in planning further attacks. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the security model of the virtualization platform.
The attack surface is particularly concerning as it requires only authenticated access, meaning that users who have legitimate credentials within the system can exploit this weakness. This makes the vulnerability especially dangerous in environments where multiple administrators or users have access to the management interface, as any compromised account could be leveraged to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to sensitive virtualization data. The vulnerability affects the core management functionality of RHEV-M and represents a fundamental flaw in the system's access control implementation.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to RHEV-M version 3.1 or later where the privilege checking mechanisms have been properly implemented. Additional defensive measures include implementing network segmentation to limit access to management interfaces, enforcing strict access controls through firewall rules, and monitoring for unusual query patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control, and could be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1082 for system information discovery, highlighting the multi-faceted nature of the threat. Regular security audits of authentication and authorization mechanisms should be conducted to identify similar privilege escalation vulnerabilities in other system components and ensure that access control policies are properly enforced throughout the virtualization infrastructure.