CVE-2013-4155 in Swift
Summary
by MITRE
OpenStack Swift before 1.9.1 in Folsom, Grizzly, and Havana allows authenticated users to cause a denial of service ("superfluous" tombstone consumption and Swift cluster slowdown) via a DELETE request with a timestamp that is older than expected.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/25/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-4155 affects OpenStack Swift versions prior to 1.9.1 across multiple release cycles including Folsom, Grizzly, and Havana. This security flaw represents a significant denial of service vulnerability that specifically targets the storage cluster's performance and resource management capabilities. The issue manifests when authenticated users exploit a weakness in timestamp validation mechanisms within the Swift object storage system, leading to unintended resource consumption patterns that degrade overall cluster performance.
The technical flaw resides in Swift's handling of DELETE requests containing timestamps that fall outside the expected temporal range. When such requests are processed, the system creates superfluous tombstone entries that consume storage resources unnecessarily while simultaneously causing cluster slowdowns. This occurs because the system's garbage collection mechanisms become overwhelmed by these artificial tombstone entries, which are created without proper validation of the timestamp parameters. The vulnerability operates at the core of Swift's object lifecycle management, where tombstones are normally used to mark deleted objects for eventual cleanup but are being generated excessively due to the flawed timestamp validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to create sustained performance degradation across the entire Swift cluster. Attackers can repeatedly submit DELETE requests with manipulated timestamps to generate an accumulation of tombstone entries that consume significant storage space and processing cycles. This results in increased latency for legitimate operations, reduced available storage capacity, and overall system instability that affects all users of the affected cluster. The vulnerability particularly impacts systems where Swift is deployed in production environments with high object turnover rates, as the resource consumption becomes exponential with repeated exploitation attempts.
This vulnerability maps to CWE-129 Input Validation and CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, both of which are fundamental security weaknesses that directly contribute to denial of service conditions. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this represents a Resource Exhaustion technique that leverages legitimate system functionality to consume computational resources. The vulnerability also aligns with T1499.004 Network Denial of Service and T1499.001 Network Denial of Service within the attack tactics and techniques categories, demonstrating how authenticated access can be exploited to create system-wide performance degradation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-4155 primarily involve upgrading to OpenStack Swift version 1.9.1 or later, which includes proper timestamp validation mechanisms and improved tombstone management. Organizations should also implement rate limiting controls on DELETE operations to prevent abuse of the vulnerability, establish monitoring for unusual tombstone creation patterns, and configure appropriate storage quotas to limit the impact of resource exhaustion attacks. Additionally, network-level controls can be deployed to restrict access to DELETE operations from specific IP ranges and implement automated alerting when tombstone consumption exceeds normal thresholds, providing early detection capabilities for potential exploitation attempts.