CVE-2015-5284 in FreeIPA
Summary
by MITRE
ipa-kra-install in FreeIPA before 4.2.2 puts the CA agent certificate and private key in /etc/httpd/alias/kra-agent.pem, which is world readable.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-5284 affects FreeIPA versions prior to 4.2.2 and specifically concerns the ipa-kra-install component which handles Key Recovery Agent installation. This flaw represents a critical configuration error that exposes sensitive cryptographic materials to unauthorized access. The issue manifests when the CA agent certificate and its corresponding private key are stored in the /etc/httpd/alias/kra-agent.pem file path, which is accessible with world-read permissions. This misconfiguration fundamentally undermines the security posture of the FreeIPA deployment by making cryptographic keys available to any user or process on the system.
The technical flaw stems from improper file permission management during the installation process. When the CA agent certificate and private key are written to the specified location without appropriate access controls, they become vulnerable to unauthorized reading. This represents a direct violation of security best practices and falls under the category of insecure cryptographic key storage as defined by CWE-310. The world-readable nature of the file means that any user account on the system can access the private key, which compromises the entire cryptographic infrastructure. The private key's exposure enables attackers to impersonate the CA agent, potentially allowing them to decrypt sensitive data, forge certificates, or perform unauthorized key recovery operations within the IPA environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure. An attacker with access to the CA agent private key can effectively compromise the entire certificate authority infrastructure. This includes the ability to generate fraudulent certificates, decrypt communications protected by the IPA-issued certificates, and perform man-in-the-middle attacks against services relying on IPA authentication. The vulnerability directly enables privilege escalation attacks and can facilitate lateral movement within the network. According to ATT&CK framework, this issue maps to T1552.004 (Credentials in Files) and T1003.006 (OS Credential Dumping), as it provides access to cryptographic keys that can be used for further compromise. The exposure of the private key also violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to certificate trust violations that affect the entire PKI ecosystem.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-5284 require immediate action to correct the file permissions and ensure proper cryptographic key management practices. Organizations should immediately change the permissions on /etc/httpd/alias/kra-agent.pem to restrict access to only the necessary processes and users, typically requiring owner-only read permissions. The recommended approach involves setting permissions to 600 or more restrictive, ensuring that only the httpd process or specific administrative accounts can access the private key. Additionally, system administrators should conduct comprehensive audits of all cryptographic key locations within the IPA deployment to identify similar misconfigurations. The fix requires updating to FreeIPA version 4.2.2 or later where the installation process properly enforces secure file permissions. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unauthorized access attempts to cryptographic materials, and regular security assessments should verify that key files maintain appropriate access controls. This vulnerability highlights the critical importance of proper privilege management and secure configuration practices in enterprise identity and access management systems, emphasizing the need for automated security checks and continuous monitoring of cryptographic key storage locations.