CVE-2015-0266 in Ranger
Summary
by MITRE
The Policy Admin Tool in Apache Ranger before 0.5.0 allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions via direct access to module URLs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/04/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-0266 affects Apache Ranger versions prior to 050, specifically targeting the Policy Admin Tool component. This represents a critical authorization bypass flaw that undermines the security controls designed to protect sensitive administrative functions within the Ranger framework. The issue stems from inadequate input validation and access control enforcement mechanisms that fail to properly validate user permissions before granting access to administrative modules.
The technical implementation flaw occurs when authenticated users exploit the direct access pattern to module URLs without proper authorization checks. This allows malicious actors who have obtained valid credentials to navigate directly to restricted administrative endpoints and execute privileged operations they should not be authorized to perform. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and leverages the fact that the system does not adequately verify user permissions for each individual URL access request, creating a pathway for privilege escalation through direct URL manipulation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables authenticated attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and potentially gain unauthorized access to administrative functions within the Apache Ranger system. The consequences extend beyond simple unauthorized access, as attackers could manipulate security policies, modify access controls, and potentially compromise the entire security infrastructure managed by Ranger. This type of flaw directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to complete system compromise if exploited by malicious insiders or external attackers who have obtained valid credentials.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation. Organizations utilizing Apache Ranger for security policy management face significant risk from this flaw, as it undermines the fundamental security model that Ranger is designed to enforce. The impact is particularly severe in environments where Ranger serves as the central security policy enforcement point for data access controls across multiple data sources and applications.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate upgrade to Apache Ranger version 050 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the authorization bypass. Additionally, organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to administrative endpoints, deploy additional access controls and monitoring for administrative URLs, and conduct regular security assessments to identify similar authorization flaws in other components. Security teams should also establish robust logging and alerting mechanisms around administrative access patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain comprehensive audit trails for forensic analysis.