CVE-2012-4462 in Enterprise MRG
Summary
by MITRE
aviary/jobcontrol.py in Condor, as used in Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2.3, when removing a job, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (condor_schedd restart) via square brackets in the cproc option.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/30/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-4462 affects Condor's job control system, specifically within the aviary/jobcontrol.py module used in Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2.3. This flaw represents a denial of service condition that can be exploited by remote attackers to force the condor_schedd daemon to restart, thereby disrupting cluster job scheduling operations. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation when processing job removal requests, particularly when handling the cproc option parameter.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the condor_schedd daemon processes job removal commands containing square brackets within the cproc option. These square brackets are not properly sanitized or escaped during parsing, allowing malicious input to interfere with the job control system's internal state management. The flaw exists in the input processing pipeline where the system fails to validate or normalize special characters that have semantic meaning within the Condor job scheduling framework, creating an injection point that can manipulate the daemon's execution flow.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risk to high availability computing environments that rely on Condor's job scheduling capabilities. The forced restart of condor_schedd can result in job queue disruptions, potential job loss, and extended service outages that can affect multiple users and applications depending on the cluster's workload. The remote nature of the attack means that unauthorized actors can exploit this vulnerability from outside the local network, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where Condor clusters may be exposed to untrusted networks.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, "Improper Input Validation," and represents a classic example of how special characters can be weaponized to manipulate system behavior. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004, "Endpoint Denial of Service," and potentially T1566.001, "Phishing," if attackers use social engineering to gain initial access before exploiting this specific weakness. The attack vector requires only a remote connection to the Condor scheduler and the ability to submit or modify job parameters, making it accessible to attackers with minimal privileges.
Mitigation strategies should focus on input sanitization and validation within the Condor job control system. System administrators should implement immediate patches from Red Hat or Condor maintainers that properly escape or validate special characters in job parameters. Network segmentation and firewall rules should restrict access to Condor scheduler ports to trusted networks only. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual restart patterns of the condor_schedd daemon, which could indicate exploitation attempts. The recommended approach includes disabling unnecessary remote access to the job control interface and implementing proper input normalization routines that prevent special characters from being interpreted as control sequences within the job processing pipeline.