CVE-2012-3540 in Horizon
Summary
by MITRE
Open redirect vulnerability in views/auth_forms.py in OpenStack Dashboard (Horizon) Essex (2012.1) allows remote attackers to redirect users to arbitrary web sites and conduct phishing attacks via a URL in the next parameter to auth/login/. NOTE: this issue was originally assigned CVE-2012-3542 by mistake.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/30/2024
The OpenStack Dashboard vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-3540 represents a critical open redirect flaw that existed in the Horizon dashboard component of the OpenStack Essex release from 2012.1. This vulnerability specifically resides within the views/auth_forms.py file and manifests when processing authentication requests through the auth/login/ endpoint. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate the next parameter in the URL to redirect authenticated users to malicious websites, creating a significant security risk for cloud environments that rely on OpenStack's web-based administrative interface. The vulnerability was initially misclassified as CVE-2012-3542 before being correctly assigned to its proper identifier.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the authentication flow of the Horizon dashboard. When users attempt to access protected resources within the OpenStack environment, they are redirected to the login page with a next parameter that specifies where users should be redirected after successful authentication. The flaw occurs because the application fails to properly validate that the redirect URL belongs to the same domain or is otherwise trusted, allowing attackers to craft malicious URLs that contain arbitrary destination parameters. This design flaw enables attackers to construct phishing pages that appear legitimate to users who have been redirected through the authentication process, making it particularly dangerous for cloud administrators who might unknowingly provide credentials to malicious actors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple redirection attacks and creates significant risks for cloud security infrastructure. Attackers can exploit this flaw to conduct sophisticated phishing campaigns targeting OpenStack administrators and users, potentially compromising entire cloud environments. The vulnerability affects organizations using the specific OpenStack Essex release, which was widely deployed in enterprise cloud environments during 2012. When successful, these attacks can result in unauthorized access to cloud resources, data breaches, and potential lateral movement within the cloud infrastructure. The attack vector is particularly insidious because it leverages legitimate authentication flows, making it difficult for security monitoring systems to distinguish between legitimate and malicious redirect attempts. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-601, which describes open redirect vulnerabilities where web applications redirect users to untrusted websites, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential harvesting through phishing.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of OpenStack Horizon, implementing strict URL validation for redirect parameters, and configuring web application firewalls to monitor and block suspicious redirect patterns. The recommended approach involves validating that all redirect URLs are either absolute URLs within the same domain or explicitly defined whitelist entries, preventing arbitrary redirection to external domains. Security teams should also conduct thorough audits of authentication flows and implement proper input sanitization mechanisms. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating all user-supplied inputs in authentication and authorization flows, particularly in enterprise software where the attack surface includes both internal and external users. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as multi-factor authentication and enhanced monitoring of authentication events to detect potential exploitation attempts. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of proper security testing during software development cycles and the need for continuous security assessment of web applications in cloud environments.