CVE-2014-7849 in JBoss Enterprise Application Platform
Summary
by MITRE
The Role Based Access Control (RBAC) implementation in JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) 6.2.0 through 6.3.2 does not properly verify authorization conditions, which allows remote authenticated users to add, modify, and undefine otherwise restricted attributes by leveraging the Maintainer role.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/10/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7849 resides within the Role Based Access Control (RBAC) framework of JBoss Enterprise Application Platform versions 6.2.0 through 6.3.2. This represents a critical authorization flaw that fundamentally undermines the security model designed to protect sensitive administrative functions. The issue manifests when authenticated users with the Maintainer role attempt to manipulate system attributes that should be restricted to higher privilege levels. The RBAC implementation fails to properly validate authorization conditions, creating a pathway for privilege escalation that bypasses intended security controls.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate validation of authorization parameters within the RBAC subsystem. When users with the Maintainer role submit requests to modify or define attributes, the system does not sufficiently verify whether these operations should be permitted based on the user's actual privileges. This weakness allows attackers to craft requests that appear legitimate to the system but contain unauthorized attribute modifications. The vulnerability specifically affects the attribute management functions that should be restricted to administrators or users with elevated privileges, yet the system fails to enforce these restrictions properly.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations deploying affected JBoss EAP versions. Remote authenticated users who have gained access to a Maintainer role can effectively elevate their privileges and gain unauthorized access to restricted system attributes. This could enable attackers to modify critical configuration parameters, alter security settings, or manipulate system behavior in ways that compromise the integrity and confidentiality of the application environment. The impact extends beyond simple attribute modification to potentially allow full system compromise through unauthorized configuration changes that could be leveraged for further attacks.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to JBoss EAP versions that contain the patched RBAC implementation, as this vulnerability affects multiple versions in the 6.2.0 through 6.3.2 release cycle. Security administrators should also consider implementing additional monitoring for unauthorized attribute modifications and review existing role assignments to ensure that the Maintainer role is not granted to users who do not require such access levels. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques that allow adversaries to gain access to restricted system resources, potentially enabling further lateral movement and persistence within the affected environment.