CVE-2014-0084 in openshift-origin-node Gem
Summary
by MITRE
Ruby gem openshift-origin-node before 2014-02-14 does not contain a cronjob timeout which could result in a denial of service in cron.daily and cron.weekly.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0084 affects the openshift-origin-node ruby gem version prior to the February 14, 2014 release, representing a critical denial of service weakness within the OpenShift platform's node component. This flaw specifically targets the cron job execution mechanism that operates during daily and weekly scheduled tasks, creating a potential attack vector that could disrupt normal system operations and service availability.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the absence of proper timeout mechanisms within the cron job execution framework of the openshift-origin-node gem. When cron.daily and cron.weekly jobs are executed, the system fails to impose time limits on their execution duration, allowing individual jobs to potentially run indefinitely or for extended periods. This design flaw creates an environment where malicious or poorly configured cron jobs could consume excessive system resources or remain active indefinitely, effectively preventing other scheduled tasks from executing properly.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability directly impacts system reliability and availability by creating conditions where legitimate scheduled maintenance tasks may be starved of resources or completely prevented from executing. The lack of timeout enforcement means that a single misbehaving cron job can monopolize system resources, leading to cascading failures where the node becomes unresponsive to other critical operations. This scenario particularly affects containerized environments where resource contention can quickly escalate into complete service disruption, as the node's ability to manage and schedule container operations becomes compromised.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-707, which addresses improper neutralization of special elements used in a different context, and specifically relates to CWE-400, which covers uncontrolled resource consumption. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this weakness maps to T1499.004, which covers network denial of service, and T1566.001, which involves phishing with malicious attachments, as the vulnerability could be exploited through malicious cron job injection. The impact extends beyond simple resource exhaustion to encompass broader system stability concerns, as the node's inability to properly manage scheduled tasks can lead to cascading failures throughout the OpenShift platform, affecting multiple applications and services that depend on timely execution of maintenance operations.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately update to the patched version of the openshift-origin-node gem released on February 14, 2014, which implements proper timeout mechanisms for cron job execution. Additional mitigations include implementing custom timeout configurations for cron jobs, monitoring resource consumption during scheduled tasks, and establishing alerting mechanisms for unusually long-running cron processes. System administrators should also consider implementing resource quotas and limits for cron job execution to prevent single processes from consuming excessive system resources. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of the patched environment to ensure that legitimate cron jobs continue to execute properly while the timeout mechanisms provide adequate protection against resource exhaustion attacks.