CVE-2014-0056 in Neutron
Summary
by MITRE
The l3-agent in OpenStack Neutron 2012.2 before 2013.2.3 does not check the tenant id when creating ports, which allows remote authenticated users to plug ports into the routers of arbitrary tenants via the device id in a port-create command.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/22/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-0056 represents a critical authorization flaw within OpenStack Neutron's l3-agent component that affects versions prior to 2013.2.3. This issue stems from insufficient validation of tenant identification during port creation operations, creating a significant security gap that undermines the fundamental multi-tenancy isolation principles that OpenStack is designed to enforce. The l3-agent serves as a crucial component responsible for managing router operations and network connectivity within OpenStack environments, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it directly impacts network routing and isolation between different tenant environments.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs when the l3-agent processes port creation requests without properly validating whether the requesting user has authorization to associate the specified device ID with a particular tenant's router. This validation failure allows authenticated attackers to manipulate the device ID parameter in port creation commands to reference routers belonging to other tenants. The vulnerability specifically targets the tenant id validation mechanism, which should normally ensure that only authorized users can modify or create network resources within a specific tenant's namespace. When this check is bypassed, attackers can effectively perform unauthorized network operations across tenant boundaries, potentially gaining access to sensitive network information or disrupting services belonging to other tenants.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it enables active network manipulation across tenant environments. An attacker with valid credentials can leverage this flaw to create network connections that span multiple tenants, potentially leading to cross-tenant data leakage, network disruption, or even lateral movement within the cloud infrastructure. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and tenant isolation that cloud environments rely upon for security. The implications are particularly severe in multi-tenant cloud deployments where different organizations share the same infrastructure but require strict network isolation. The attack vector requires only authenticated access to the OpenStack API, making it accessible to users who have legitimate access to the cloud platform but should not be able to access resources belonging to other tenants.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected OpenStack Neutron installations to version 2013.2.3 or later, which contains the necessary validation fixes for tenant id checking during port creation operations. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring of port creation activities and tenant id validation to detect anomalous network behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access control measures should be reviewed to ensure that even if exploitation occurs, the impact is limited. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1046 for network service scanning and T1566 for credential harvesting. Security teams should also consider implementing automated compliance checks to verify that tenant isolation mechanisms are properly enforced across all network components within their OpenStack deployments.