CVE-2017-2632 in CloudForms
Summary
by MITRE
A logic error in valid_role() in CloudForms role validation before 5.7.1.3 could allow a tenant administrator to create groups with a higher privilege level than the tenant administrator should have. This would allow an attacker with tenant administration access to elevate privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/21/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2632 represents a critical access control flaw within the CloudForms management platform affecting versions prior to 5.7.1.3. This issue stems from a logic error in the valid_role() function responsible for validating user roles and permissions within the system's role-based access control mechanism. The flaw specifically impacts tenant administrators who possess limited administrative privileges within their assigned tenant environment. The vulnerability allows malicious actors with legitimate tenant administrator access to exploit a design weakness in the role validation process, enabling them to create new user groups that inherently possess elevated privilege levels beyond what should be permitted for their current administrative scope.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the CloudForms platform's role validation subsystem where the valid_role() function fails to properly enforce privilege boundaries between different user roles. This logic error creates a path where tenant administrators can manipulate group creation parameters to bypass normal access control restrictions. The flaw operates at the application level and specifically affects the platform's authorization framework, where the system incorrectly validates role assignments during group creation operations. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-284 Access Control Bypass, which encompasses improper access control mechanisms that allow unauthorized privilege escalation. The vulnerability demonstrates a clear violation of the principle of least privilege, where users should only possess the minimum permissions necessary to perform their designated functions.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to multi-tenant cloud environments where tenant administrators manage isolated customer workloads. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability can effectively escalate their privileges from tenant administrator level to higher privilege levels within the same tenant environment, potentially gaining access to resources and functionality that should remain restricted. The attack vector requires only that an attacker already possess tenant administrator credentials, making the exploitation relatively straightforward once initial access is obtained. This vulnerability essentially undermines the fundamental security model of CloudForms' multi-tenant architecture, where isolation between tenants should be maintained through proper access controls. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it could enable attackers to access sensitive data, modify system configurations, or potentially move laterally within the tenant environment to compromise additional resources.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2017-2632 primarily involves upgrading to CloudForms version 5.7.1.3 or later, which includes the patched valid_role() function that properly enforces role validation boundaries. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring and auditing measures to detect unauthorized group creation activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should review existing tenant administrator permissions and ensure that proper least privilege principles are enforced throughout the system. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts, as it leverages legitimate administrative credentials to perform unauthorized privilege escalation. Additionally, this issue relates to T1548 Abuse of Cloud Resources where attackers exploit cloud platform vulnerabilities to gain elevated access. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and access control policies to limit the blast radius of such privilege escalation attacks. Regular security assessments of role-based access control mechanisms and privilege validation functions should be conducted to identify similar logic errors that could potentially compromise system security. The vulnerability highlights the importance of thorough code review processes for access control functions and the need for comprehensive testing of privilege boundaries in multi-tenant environments.