CVE-2018-11088 in Application Service
Summary
by MITRE
Pivotal Applications Manager in Pivotal Application Service, versions 2.0 prior to 2.0.21 and 2.1 prior to 2.1.13 and 2.2 prior to 2.2.5, contains a bug which may allow escalation of privileges. A space developer with access to the system org may be able to access an artifact which contains the CF admin credential, allowing them to escalate to an admin role.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/24/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-11088 affects Pivotal Applications Manager within Pivotal Application Service, specifically targeting versions prior to the mentioned patched releases. This represents a critical privilege escalation flaw that undermines the security model of cloud foundry environments. The vulnerability exists within the authorization mechanisms of the platform, creating a path for unauthorized privilege elevation that could compromise the entire system infrastructure.
The technical flaw manifests through a misconfiguration in how the system handles credential distribution and access control. A space developer role, which typically should be restricted to application deployment and management within specific spaces, gains access to artifacts containing administrative credentials. This occurs due to insufficient validation of access permissions and improper isolation of privileged information. The vulnerability stems from inadequate principle of least privilege enforcement, where the system fails to properly restrict access to administrative credentials based on user roles and organizational boundaries.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching within cloud foundry environments. An attacker with space developer privileges can escalate their access level to full administrator status, gaining complete control over the platform and all deployed applications. This escalation allows for arbitrary code execution, data exfiltration, service disruption, and potential lateral movement to other systems within the organization's infrastructure. The vulnerability effectively undermines the multi-tenant security model that cloud platforms rely upon for protecting customer data and maintaining service isolation.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected versions to the recommended secure releases. Organizations must also implement additional monitoring and logging of credential access patterns to detect anomalous behavior. The principle of least privilege should be enforced through regular access reviews and proper segregation of duties. Security teams should conduct comprehensive assessments of their cloud foundry environments to identify any other potential privilege escalation vectors. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-276, which addresses improper privilege management, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and privilege escalation.
The incident highlights the critical importance of proper credential management in cloud environments and demonstrates how a single flaw in access control can lead to complete system compromise. Organizations should implement automated compliance checking and regular security audits to prevent similar vulnerabilities from persisting in their infrastructure. The vulnerability also underscores the need for continuous security testing and validation of access control mechanisms in complex distributed systems.