CVE-2018-0041 in Contrail Service Orchestration
Summary
by MITRE
Juniper Networks Contrail Service Orchestration releases prior to 3.3.0 use hardcoded credentials to access Keystone service. These credentials allow network based attackers unauthorized access to information stored in keystone.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/04/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-0041 affects Juniper Networks Contrail Service Orchestration versions prior to 3.3.0, representing a critical security flaw that compromises the integrity of cloud infrastructure deployments. This issue stems from the improper handling of authentication credentials within the service orchestration framework, creating a persistent backdoor that enables unauthorized access to Keystone services. The flaw manifests through the use of hardcoded credentials that remain unchanged across deployments, effectively providing attackers with a consistent method to bypass normal authentication mechanisms and gain elevated privileges within the cloud environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves hardcoded authentication tokens and credentials that are embedded directly within the software code or configuration files of the Contrail Service Orchestration components. These credentials are typically stored in plain text format and remain static across multiple installations, making them easily discoverable through reverse engineering or code analysis. The hardcoded nature of these credentials means that they cannot be updated or rotated through normal operational procedures, creating a persistent security risk that extends beyond the initial deployment lifecycle. This approach violates fundamental security principles and aligns with CWE-798, which specifically addresses the use of hardcoded credentials in software applications. The vulnerability enables attackers to establish unauthorized connections to Keystone services, which serve as the central identity management component in OpenStack environments, thereby compromising the entire authentication infrastructure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple unauthorized access, as it fundamentally undermines the security model of cloud deployments that rely on Contrail Service Orchestration. Network-based attackers who discover these hardcoded credentials can exploit the vulnerability to gain access to sensitive information stored within Keystone, including user credentials, role assignments, and service catalog information. This access enables attackers to perform privilege escalation attacks, potentially leading to complete compromise of the cloud infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the entire service orchestration environment, as attackers can manipulate user permissions, access restricted resources, and potentially disrupt service operations. The impact is particularly severe in multi-tenant environments where Keystone manages identities for multiple organizations, as a single compromised credential can provide access to data belonging to various tenants.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-0041 require immediate action to address the hardcoded credential issue and implement proper authentication mechanisms. Organizations should upgrade to Juniper Networks Contrail Service Orchestration version 3.3.0 or later, which resolves the hardcoded credential vulnerability through proper credential management and dynamic authentication provisioning. The remediation process should include comprehensive credential rotation for all affected systems, ensuring that no hardcoded credentials remain in the environment. Security teams must also implement regular vulnerability scanning procedures to identify similar hardcoded credential issues in other components of the infrastructure. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following the principle of least privilege and implementing dynamic credential management systems that align with NIST SP 800-53 security controls for authentication and access control. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their cloud infrastructure to identify other potential hardcoded credentials or configuration flaws that could provide similar attack vectors. The remediation efforts should also include implementing network segmentation and monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to Keystone services, as outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework's credential access tactics and techniques.