CVE-2013-2030 in Havana
Summary
by MITRE
keystone/middleware/auth_token.py in OpenStack Nova Folsom, Grizzly, and Havana uses an insecure temporary directory for storing signing certificates, which allows local users to spoof servers by pre-creating this directory, which is reused by Nova, as demonstrated using /tmp/keystone-signing-nova on Fedora.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2030 represents a critical security flaw in OpenStack Nova's authentication middleware component, specifically within the keystone/middleware/auth_token.py file. This issue affects multiple versions of the Nova compute service including Folsom, Grizzly, and Havana releases, making it a widespread concern across various OpenStack deployments. The flaw stems from the insecure handling of temporary directories used for storing cryptographic signing certificates, creating a persistent attack vector that can be exploited by local users with system access.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the use of a predictable and insecure temporary directory path for storing signing certificates required for authentication token validation. The specific path referenced in the exploit demonstration is /tmp/keystone-signing-nova on Fedora systems, which represents a well-known temporary directory that is accessible to all local users. When the Nova service creates this directory for certificate storage, it does so with insufficient permissions and security controls, allowing malicious local users to pre-create this directory structure and manipulate the certificate files that Nova expects to find. This creates a scenario where attackers can effectively spoof legitimate authentication servers by placing malicious certificates in the expected location, bypassing the normal security validation mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it fundamentally undermines the authentication integrity of the Nova compute service. When an attacker successfully pre-creates the temporary directory and places malicious certificates within it, they can manipulate the authentication token validation process to accept forged tokens from unauthorized sources. This compromises the entire cloud infrastructure's security posture, as it allows attackers to potentially gain unauthorized access to compute resources, manipulate virtual machine operations, and potentially escalate privileges within the cloud environment. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the middleware level, affecting the core authentication mechanisms that protect access to critical compute resources.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-377 and CWE-378, which address insecure temporary file creation and the use of insecure temporary directories in software applications. The issue also maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for executing malicious code through local system access and T1566.001 for social engineering through credential manipulation. Organizations using affected OpenStack versions should immediately implement mitigations including restricting permissions on temporary directories, implementing proper directory creation with secure permissions, and ensuring that the temporary certificate storage locations are not predictable or accessible to unauthorized local users. Additionally, the vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper secure coding practices and the need for comprehensive security reviews of temporary file handling mechanisms in cloud infrastructure software. The fix typically involves modifying the code to create temporary directories with restrictive permissions and using more secure temporary file handling mechanisms that prevent pre-creation attacks by unauthorized users.