CVE-2017-8444 in Cloud Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
The client-forwarder in Elastic Cloud Enterprise versions prior to 1.0.2 do not properly encrypt traffic to ZooKeeper. If an attacker is able to man in the middle (MITM) the traffic between the client-forwarder and ZooKeeper they could potentially obtain sensitive data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/20/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-8444 affects Elastic Cloud Enterprise versions prior to 1.0.2, specifically targeting the client-forwarder component responsible for communication with ZooKeeper services. This weakness represents a critical security gap in the encryption implementation that governs data transmission between Elastic Cloud Enterprise components. The client-forwarder serves as an intermediary that facilitates communication between Elastic Cloud Enterprise and its underlying ZooKeeper coordination services, making it a potential attack vector for malicious actors seeking unauthorized access to sensitive operational data.
The technical flaw stems from improper encryption implementation within the client-forwarder module, which fails to establish secure communication channels with ZooKeeper services. This cryptographic weakness allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by intercepting and potentially decrypting traffic flowing between the client-forwarder and ZooKeeper instances. The vulnerability specifically impacts the encryption protocols used during data transmission, creating opportunities for eavesdropping and data exfiltration. The flaw aligns with CWE-310, which addresses cryptographic weaknesses in security implementations, and represents a failure in proper cryptographic protocol enforcement.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it compromises the integrity and confidentiality of critical infrastructure communications. Attackers who successfully exploit this weakness can gain access to sensitive data that flows through the client-forwarder to ZooKeeper, potentially including configuration details, operational metrics, and other confidential information. The implications are particularly severe in enterprise environments where Elastic Cloud Enterprise manages critical data services and where ZooKeeper coordinates distributed system operations. This vulnerability undermines the security posture of organizations relying on Elastic Cloud Enterprise for their data infrastructure, creating potential risks for data breaches and unauthorized system access.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Elastic Cloud Enterprise version 1.0.2 or later, which includes proper encryption implementations for client-forwarder to ZooKeeper communications. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect potential man-in-the-middle attack attempts and establish proper certificate validation procedures for all inter-component communications. The mitigation strategy should align with ATT&CK technique T1046, which covers network service scanning and reconnaissance activities, as organizations need to monitor for unauthorized network access attempts. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and enforcing strict access controls between client-forwarder and ZooKeeper components can reduce the attack surface and limit potential exploitation of this vulnerability.