CVE-2014-0105 in python-keystoneclient
Summary
by MITRE
The auth_token middleware in the OpenStack Python client library for Keystone (aka python-keystoneclient) before 0.7.0 does not properly retrieve user tokens from memcache, which allows remote authenticated users to gain privileges in opportunistic circumstances via a large number of requests, related to an "interaction between eventlet and python-memcached."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/10/2026
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-0105 resides within the OpenStack Python client library for Keystone authentication service, specifically within the auth_token middleware component. This middleware serves as a critical security layer responsible for validating user credentials and managing authentication tokens within OpenStack environments. The issue manifests in versions prior to 0.7.0 of the python-keystoneclient library, where the token retrieval mechanism fails to properly handle cached authentication tokens stored in memcache. The flaw represents a significant security weakness that undermines the integrity of the authentication system by allowing unauthorized privilege escalation under specific conditions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from an interaction between the eventlet concurrency framework and the python-memcached library implementation. Eventlet is a concurrent networking library that provides asynchronous I/O operations, while python-memcached serves as the caching mechanism for storing and retrieving authentication tokens. When these two components work together in the authentication flow, a race condition or improper handling of cached token retrieval occurs. This interaction creates an opportunity for authenticated users to exploit the token management system through a series of carefully crafted requests that manipulate the cached token state. The vulnerability specifically targets the memcache token retrieval process, where the middleware fails to properly validate or refresh tokens when they are accessed concurrently.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to potentially compromise entire OpenStack deployments. An authenticated attacker who understands the timing and request patterns required to exploit this flaw can leverage the vulnerability to gain elevated privileges within the system. The opportunistic nature of this attack means that the vulnerability may not be immediately apparent but can be triggered under specific load conditions or through repeated requests that cause the memcache interaction to behave unexpectedly. This creates a scenario where legitimate users might inadvertently trigger the vulnerability, or attackers could systematically exploit it to gain unauthorized access to resources they should not be able to access, potentially leading to data breaches, service disruption, or further lateral movement within the cloud infrastructure.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses "Improper Access Control," and demonstrates how flawed token management can lead to unauthorized privilege escalation. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques where an authenticated user leverages a software flaw to gain elevated access rights. The issue also relates to credential exposure and access token manipulation, which are common attack vectors in cloud environments. Organizations using OpenStack deployments that have not updated to version 0.7.0 or later of the python-keystoneclient library remain at risk, as the vulnerability can be exploited through network-based attacks that do not require special privileges beyond initial authentication. The remediation approach involves updating to the patched version of the library, implementing proper token validation mechanisms, and ensuring that concurrent access patterns do not trigger the memcache interaction issues. Additionally, monitoring for unusual authentication request patterns and implementing rate limiting can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while proper security auditing of concurrent programming components can identify similar issues in other parts of the system architecture.