CVE-2017-3154 in Atlas
Summary
by MITRE
Error responses from Apache Atlas versions 0.6.0-incubating and 0.7.0-incubating included stack trace, exposing excessive information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/11/2019
Apache Atlas version 0.6.0-incubating and 0.7.0-incubating contained a critical information disclosure vulnerability that manifested through error responses containing detailed stack traces. This flaw represents a classic security misconfiguration issue where the application failed to properly sanitize error messages before returning them to clients. The vulnerability stems from inadequate error handling mechanisms that directly expose internal system information to unauthorized users, creating a significant attack surface for potential adversaries. The stack trace information revealed in these error responses typically includes class names, method signatures, file paths, and potentially sensitive operational details about the application's internal architecture. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-209, which specifically addresses the improper handling of exceptions and the exposure of sensitive information through error messages. The security implications extend beyond simple information disclosure as the exposed stack traces can reveal implementation details that attackers can leverage for more sophisticated attacks, including potential exploitation of other vulnerabilities within the same system. The vulnerability affects the application's error handling subsystem and demonstrates a fundamental lack of proper security hardening in the error response generation process. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1211 - Exploitation for Defense Evasion, as attackers can use the exposed information to better understand the target system and craft more effective attacks. The impact of this vulnerability is particularly severe in enterprise environments where Apache Atlas serves as a metadata management and governance platform, as it provides insights into the underlying data architecture and potentially sensitive business information. The stack traces could reveal database connection details, internal service endpoints, and other operational information that would be valuable to attackers planning targeted attacks against the system. This vulnerability represents a failure in the principle of least privilege and proper error handling, as the system should never expose internal implementation details to end users or external clients. Organizations using these vulnerable versions should immediately implement patches or workarounds that ensure error responses are sanitized and generic, preventing the leakage of sensitive information. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to verify that all error conditions return standardized, non-informative messages while maintaining proper logging for legitimate administrative purposes. Security teams should also implement monitoring to detect unusual error response patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts or continued exposure of sensitive information. The vulnerability highlights the importance of robust error handling practices and demonstrates how seemingly minor implementation flaws can create significant security risks in enterprise applications. Proper input validation and error sanitization should be integrated into the development lifecycle to prevent such issues from occurring in the first place, following security best practices outlined in various industry standards and frameworks including ISO 27001 and NIST cybersecurity guidelines.