CVE-2017-7505 in Foreman
Summary
by MITRE
Foreman since version 1.5 is vulnerable to an incorrect authorization check due to which users with user management permission who are assigned to some organization(s) can do all operations granted by these permissions on all administrator user object outside of their scope, such as editing global admin accounts including changing their passwords.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/07/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-7505 affects Foreman versions 1.5 and later, representing a critical authorization flaw that undermines the security model of the system. This issue stems from improper access control implementation where users with user management privileges are granted excessive permissions beyond their intended scope. The flaw specifically impacts the authorization mechanism that should restrict administrative actions to users within defined organizational boundaries, creating a privilege escalation vector that allows unauthorized access to global administrator accounts.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the incorrect implementation of authorization checks within Foreman's permission system. When users are assigned user management permissions, the system fails to properly enforce scope limitations that should restrict their actions to only users within their assigned organizations. This misconfiguration allows users to perform operations on administrator objects regardless of whether these accounts fall within their organizational scope, effectively bypassing the intended security boundaries that separate different administrative domains.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability represents a severe security risk that could lead to complete system compromise. An attacker with user management permissions could gain unauthorized access to global administrator accounts, potentially enabling them to modify critical system configurations, escalate privileges, and manipulate sensitive data across the entire Foreman environment. The ability to change administrator passwords provides the most damaging aspect of this vulnerability, as it allows attackers to establish persistent access to the system's most privileged accounts.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with privilege escalation attacks. This flaw enables attackers to move from a limited user role to full administrative control without proper authentication or authorization, violating fundamental security principles. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this issue under privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the use of legitimate credentials to gain higher-level access rights.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including updating to patched versions of Foreman, reviewing and tightening user permission assignments, and implementing additional monitoring controls to detect unauthorized access attempts. The recommended approach involves enforcing strict scope limitations for user management permissions and ensuring that administrative privileges are properly segmented across organizational boundaries. System administrators should also conduct comprehensive audits of user permissions and establish automated alerting for suspicious administrative activities to prevent exploitation of this authorization flaw.