CVE-2018-11083 in BOSH
Summary
by MITRE
Cloud Foundry BOSH, versions v264 prior to v264.14.0 and v265 prior to v265.7.0 and v266 prior to v266.8.0 and v267 prior to v267.2.0, allows refresh tokens to be as access tokens when using UAA for authentication. A remote attacker with an admin refresh token given by UAA can be used to access BOSH resources without obtaining an access token, even if their user no longer has access to those resources.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/22/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2018-11083 affects Cloud Foundry BOSH deployment systems where authentication and authorization mechanisms have been improperly configured, creating a critical security flaw in the token management system. This issue specifically impacts BOSH versions prior to the mentioned patched releases, where the system fails to properly distinguish between refresh tokens and access tokens within the UAA authentication framework. The flaw allows for privilege escalation and unauthorized access to cloud infrastructure resources by exploiting the improper token handling behavior.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the failure in BOSH's authentication processing where refresh tokens are being treated as if they were access tokens. This misconfiguration creates a scenario where an attacker with administrative refresh tokens can bypass normal access controls and continue accessing BOSH resources indefinitely without the need to obtain new access tokens. The vulnerability exists because the system does not properly validate token types or enforce appropriate access controls based on token capabilities. This flaw directly relates to CWE-284 Access Control flaws where improper access control mechanisms allow unauthorized users to access protected resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for organizations using Cloud Foundry BOSH deployments, as it allows persistent unauthorized access to critical infrastructure components. An attacker with administrative refresh tokens can maintain access to BOSH-managed resources even after their original user account has been revoked or modified, creating a persistent threat vector. This vulnerability undermines the fundamental security model of the system by allowing long-term access without proper authentication cycles, potentially enabling data exfiltration, system modification, or complete compromise of the cloud infrastructure. The attack pattern aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts where adversaries leverage compromised or legitimate credentials to maintain access.
Organizations should immediately upgrade their BOSH installations to versions v264.14.0, v265.7.0, v266.8.0, or v267.2.0 to address this vulnerability. Additionally, security teams should implement immediate monitoring of refresh token usage patterns and establish automated processes to revoke administrative refresh tokens when user access is modified or terminated. The mitigation strategy should include regular token rotation policies and enhanced audit logging to detect unauthorized access attempts. System administrators should also review and enforce proper access control policies to minimize the risk of administrative tokens being compromised, as this vulnerability specifically targets the abuse of elevated privilege tokens within the UAA authentication framework.