CVE-2014-0184 in CloudForms 3.0 Management Engine
Summary
by MITRE
Red Hat CloudForms 3.0 Management Engine (CFME) before 5.2.4.2 logs the root password when deploying a VM, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information by reading the evm.log file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/24/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0184 affects Red Hat CloudForms 3.0 Management Engine versions prior to 5.2.4.2, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that undermines the security posture of cloud infrastructure management platforms. This vulnerability resides within the logging mechanisms of the CFME system where sensitive authentication credentials are inadvertently recorded in plaintext within the evm.log file during virtual machine deployment operations. The flaw stems from improper handling of privileged credentials during system operations, creating an attack surface that adversaries can exploit to gain unauthorized access to administrative accounts. The root password logging behavior directly violates security best practices for credential management and system logging, as it exposes the most privileged account credentials in an easily accessible log file that may not be adequately protected from local system access.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the CFME system's deployment process where the root password is passed through system calls and subsequently written to the evm.log file without proper sanitization or encryption. This logging behavior occurs during the virtual machine provisioning workflow, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered during routine administrative operations. The flaw represents a classic case of insufficient input validation and output sanitization, where sensitive data flows through the system without proper security controls to prevent its exposure in log files. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-209, which addresses improper error handling that can lead to information disclosure, and CWE-312, which covers exposure of sensitive information through log files. The vulnerability also maps to ATT&CK technique T1005, which focuses on data from local system storage, demonstrating how attackers can leverage local access to extract sensitive information from system logs.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as it can enable attackers to gain full administrative control over the CloudForms management engine and subsequently compromise the entire virtualized infrastructure managed by the platform. Local users with access to the system can simply read the evm.log file to extract the root password, which then provides them with complete control over the CFME system, including the ability to modify configurations, access all managed virtual machines, and potentially escalate privileges to other systems within the network. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on CloudForms for managing large-scale virtual environments, as it creates a persistent security risk that can remain undetected for extended periods. The exposure of root credentials in log files also increases the attack surface for lateral movement within the network, as the compromised credentials can be used to access other systems that share similar authentication mechanisms or trust relationships.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor patch version 5.2.4.2 or higher that addresses the root password logging issue, implementing proper log file access controls and permissions to restrict local system access to sensitive log files, and establishing regular log file monitoring procedures to detect unauthorized access attempts. Security teams should also implement log rotation policies that automatically archive and purge sensitive information from log files, and consider implementing centralized logging solutions that can filter out sensitive data before storage. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper credential management practices and the need for comprehensive security controls around system logging mechanisms. Additional mitigations include implementing file integrity monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized modifications to log files, establishing privileged access management systems that can rotate credentials automatically, and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar logging vulnerabilities within the broader system infrastructure. Organizations should also review their incident response procedures to ensure they can quickly detect and respond to potential credential exposure events.