CVE-2018-1069 in OpenShift Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise version 3.7 is vulnerable to access control override for container network filesystems. An attacker could override the UserId and GroupId for GlusterFS and NFS to read and write any data on the network filesystem.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/12/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1069 represents a critical access control flaw within Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise version 3.7 that specifically targets container network filesystems. This issue affects the underlying security mechanisms that govern how containers interact with distributed storage systems such as GlusterFS and NFS, creating a significant risk for organizations relying on these technologies for their containerized applications. The flaw stems from improper handling of user identity mapping when containers access network filesystems, allowing malicious actors to manipulate the system's permission model.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs at the container runtime level where OpenShift fails to properly enforce the UserId and GroupId mappings when mounting network filesystems. When containers attempt to access GlusterFS or NFS volumes, the system should maintain strict separation between container identities and host filesystem permissions. However, the vulnerability allows attackers to bypass these security boundaries by overriding the effective user and group identifiers, effectively granting them unrestricted access to the network filesystem data regardless of the original access controls. This represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege that forms the foundation of secure container orchestration.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-1069 extends beyond simple data theft to encompass complete system compromise of containerized applications and their underlying storage infrastructure. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability can not only read sensitive data but also modify or delete files within the network filesystem, potentially leading to data corruption, service disruption, or complete system takeover. The implications are particularly severe in multi-tenant environments where multiple applications share the same storage infrastructure, as a single compromised container could provide access to data belonging to other tenants. This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-284 which describes improper access control, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigation strategies including upgrading to patched versions of Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 3.7, implementing network segmentation to isolate container storage access, and deploying additional monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized filesystem access patterns. The recommended remediation involves applying the vendor-provided security patches while also implementing container runtime security controls such as pod security policies that restrict filesystem mounting capabilities. Additional protective measures include regular security audits of container storage configurations, implementation of network access controls between containers and storage systems, and establishing comprehensive logging and monitoring of filesystem access events to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date container orchestration platforms and demonstrates the critical need for robust identity management within containerized environments.