CVE-2017-12423 in Clustered Data ONTAP
Summary
by MITRE
NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP 8.3.x before 8.3.2P12 allows remote authenticated users to read data on other Storage Virtual Machines (SVMs) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/12/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-12423 affects NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP versions 8.3.x prior to 8.3.2P12, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that enables remote authenticated attackers to access data belonging to other Storage Virtual Machines within the same cluster. This vulnerability specifically targets the inter-svm communication and data isolation mechanisms that are fundamental to maintaining security boundaries in clustered storage environments. The issue arises from insufficient access controls and authorization checks that should prevent one SVM from accessing another's data, creating a significant breach in the storage infrastructure's security model.
The technical flaw manifests through unspecified vectors that likely involve improper validation of inter-svm requests or inadequate session management during data access operations. Attackers with valid authentication credentials for one SVM can exploit this weakness to traverse security boundaries and read data from other SVMs operating within the same cluster. This represents a privilege escalation and information disclosure vulnerability that violates the principle of least privilege and data isolation that is fundamental to secure storage systems. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data theft as it can potentially expose sensitive customer information, intellectual property, and system configuration details across multiple virtual machines.
Operationally, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations relying on NetApp clustered environments where multiple tenants or departments share the same storage infrastructure. The remote nature of the attack means that authenticated users with minimal privileges can potentially access data they should not be authorized to read, leading to data breaches and compliance violations. Organizations using affected versions may experience unauthorized data access across their storage networks, with potential cascading effects on business continuity and regulatory compliance. The vulnerability undermines trust in the storage infrastructure's ability to maintain data isolation, particularly in multi-tenant environments where security boundaries are critical.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching to version 8.3.2P12 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes addressing the inter-svm access control issues. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring and logging of svm inter-communication activities to detect potential exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access control policies should be reviewed to ensure that authentication credentials are properly managed and that least privilege principles are enforced. Security teams should conduct comprehensive assessments of their storage environments to identify any other potential access control weaknesses. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and may map to ATT&CK technique T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) or T1041 (Exfiltration Over C2 Channel) depending on the exploitation method. Regular security assessments and vulnerability management processes should be enhanced to prevent similar issues in other storage components and systems.