CVE-2018-1000018 in ovirt-hosted-engine-setup
Summary
by MITRE
An information disclosure in ovirt-hosted-engine-setup prior to 2.2.7 reveals the root user's password in the log file.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/27/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1000018 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within the ovirt-hosted-engine-setup component of the oVirt virtualization platform. This issue affects versions prior to 2.2.7 and exposes sensitive authentication credentials through improper logging practices. The vulnerability stems from the setup utility's failure to properly sanitize or omit sensitive information when writing system state data to log files, creating an unintended exposure of privileged credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs during the hosted engine setup process where the system generates log entries containing the root user password in plain text format. This flaw violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and proper credential handling, as it stores authentication secrets in persistent storage without adequate protection mechanisms. The logging mechanism does not distinguish between sensitive and non-sensitive data, resulting in the complete disclosure of root credentials within the setup logs.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for virtualization environments relying on oVirt's hosted engine functionality. An attacker with access to system logs could obtain the root password and subsequently gain complete administrative control over the virtualization infrastructure. This exposure enables privilege escalation attacks and provides unauthorized parties with unrestricted access to all virtual machines, storage resources, and management interfaces within the affected environment. The vulnerability particularly impacts organizations that maintain extensive logging practices or have log files accessible to unauthorized users through misconfigured access controls.
The flaw aligns with CWE-200, which addresses "Information Exposure," and demonstrates poor input validation and output handling practices. Additionally, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1005, "Data from Local System," as it facilitates unauthorized access to sensitive system information through compromised log files. Organizations may also face compliance violations under various security frameworks including PCI DSS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 due to the exposure of privileged credentials.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate upgrading to ovirt-hosted-engine-setup version 2.2.7 or later, which implements proper credential sanitization in log output. System administrators should conduct comprehensive log audits to identify and remove any previously exposed credentials, followed by credential rotation for all affected systems. Additional protective measures include implementing log file access controls, establishing log monitoring procedures, and configuring centralized logging solutions with appropriate filtering mechanisms. Network segmentation and privileged access management controls should also be reviewed to minimize potential impact from credential exposure. Organizations should also consider implementing automated log analysis tools to detect and alert on similar information disclosure patterns in other system components.