CVE-2014-7144 in keystonemiddleware
Summary
by MITRE
OpenStack keystonemiddleware (formerly python-keystoneclient) 0.x before 0.11.0 and 1.x before 1.2.0 disables certification verification when the "insecure" option is set in a paste configuration (paste.ini) file regardless of the value, which allows remote attackers to conduct man-in-the-middle attacks via a crafted certificate.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/29/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7144 affects OpenStack keystonemiddleware components that were versioned prior to 0.11.0 in the 0.x series and before 1.2.0 in the 1.x series. This issue stems from a critical flaw in the certificate validation mechanism within the OpenStack identity service middleware that handles authentication and authorization for cloud infrastructure. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the "insecure" option is configured in the paste.ini configuration file, which governs how OpenStack services communicate with each other and with external clients.
The technical flaw lies in the middleware's improper handling of SSL/TLS certificate validation when the insecure parameter is present in the configuration. This configuration option was intended to allow administrators to bypass certificate verification for testing or development environments where self-signed certificates or non-standard certificate authorities might be in use. However, the implementation failed to properly distinguish between legitimate use cases and malicious exploitation, causing the system to disable certificate verification regardless of the actual value assigned to the insecure parameter. This design flaw effectively removes the cryptographic security assurances that SSL/TLS protocols provide, creating a dangerous condition where any attacker with access to the network can intercept and manipulate communications between OpenStack services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and directly enables man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise the integrity and confidentiality of all communications within the OpenStack environment. Attackers can exploit this weakness to intercept authentication tokens, access sensitive user data, modify API requests, and potentially gain unauthorized access to cloud resources. The vulnerability affects the core identity management functionality of OpenStack, which means that any service relying on keystone authentication becomes vulnerable to these attacks. This creates a cascading security risk where compromised authentication services can lead to complete system compromise, as the integrity of the entire cloud infrastructure depends on the secure operation of its identity management components.
Organizations using affected versions of OpenStack keystonemiddleware should immediately upgrade to versions 0.11.0 or later in the 0.x series and 1.2.0 or later in the 1.x series to remediate this vulnerability. Additionally, administrators should conduct thorough reviews of their paste.ini configuration files to ensure that the insecure parameter is not enabled in production environments where security is a concern. The vulnerability maps to CWE-295 which specifically addresses improper certificate validation, and it aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers credential access through man-in-the-middle attacks. Security teams should implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and consider implementing additional security controls such as certificate pinning and regular security audits of their OpenStack configurations to prevent unauthorized access to cloud resources.