CVE-2013-4180 in Foreman
Summary
by MITRE
The (1) power and (2) ipmi_boot actions in the HostController in Foreman before 1.2.2 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via unspecified input that is converted to a symbol.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/07/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-4180 affects Foreman versions prior to 1.2.2 and specifically targets the HostController component where two distinct actions power and ipmi_boot are susceptible to remote denial of service attacks. This flaw resides in how the application processes certain input parameters that are subsequently converted into symbols within the Ruby on Rails framework. The vulnerability represents a classic example of improper input validation and symbol conversion handling that can lead to resource exhaustion attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly sanitize and validate input parameters before processing them through symbol conversion mechanisms. When remote attackers submit crafted input to the power or ipmi_boot endpoints, the system converts this input into Ruby symbols without adequate bounds checking or sanitization. This symbol conversion process can be exploited to consume excessive memory resources, leading to denial of service conditions that prevent legitimate users from accessing the system's host management capabilities. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the input processing layer where attackers can leverage the symbol conversion functionality to amplify memory consumption.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-4180 extends beyond simple service disruption as it can effectively render the Foreman management interface unavailable to authorized users. Attackers can repeatedly submit malicious payloads to exhaust system memory resources, causing the application to become unresponsive or crash entirely. This denial of service condition directly impacts system availability and can compromise the integrity of host management operations within the Foreman environment. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Foreman for infrastructure management, potentially disrupting critical operations including power management and remote boot functionality for servers.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-770, which addresses the allocation of resources without proper limits or refreshes, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-20, improper input validation. From an adversarial perspective, this flaw maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network disruption through resource exhaustion attacks. The attack surface is particularly concerning as it allows remote exploitation without authentication requirements, making it accessible to any attacker who can reach the Foreman application's network endpoints. Organizations implementing Foreman for server management should consider this vulnerability as a critical threat to their infrastructure availability and operational continuity.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves upgrading to Foreman version 1.2.2 or later where the vulnerability has been addressed through proper input validation and symbol conversion handling. Additionally, implementing input sanitization measures and resource limit enforcement can provide additional defense-in-depth protection. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to restrict access to the affected endpoints, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect anomalous resource consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues within the application's codebase and prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in the future.