CVE-2018-1278 in Application Service
Summary
by MITRE
Apps Manager included in Pivotal Application Service, versions 1.12.x prior to 1.12.22, 2.0.x prior to 2.0.13, and 2.1.x prior to 2.1.4 contains an authorization enforcement vulnerability. A member of any org is able to create invitations to any org for which the org GUID can be discovered. Accepting this invitation gives unauthorized access to view the member list, domains, quotas and other information about the org.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/04/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2018-1278 represents a critical authorization enforcement flaw within the Apps Manager component of Pivotal Application Service, affecting multiple versions including 1.12.x before 1.12.22, 2.0.x before 2.0.13, and 2.1.x before 2.1.4. This issue falls under the category of insufficient authorization checks as classified by CWE-285, where the system fails to properly verify that users have appropriate permissions before granting access to sensitive organizational resources. The flaw specifically impacts the invitation system functionality, allowing unauthorized users to exploit the platform's organizational structure to gain access to information they should not be permitted to view.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of organization GUIDs during the invitation creation process. An attacker with minimal privileges within any organization can discover valid organization GUIDs through various reconnaissance methods and subsequently create invitations for other organizations without proper authorization. This flaw directly violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates a failure in access control mechanisms that should prevent users from creating invitations for organizations they do not belong to or have no legitimate access rights. The vulnerability enables a form of privilege escalation through social engineering or information gathering techniques, where the attacker leverages the platform's own invitation system against itself.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows unauthorized access to sensitive organizational data including member lists, domain configurations, quota information, and other administrative details that should remain restricted to authorized personnel. This exposure creates potential risks for data leakage, unauthorized surveillance of organizational activities, and could facilitate further attacks by providing attackers with intelligence about target organizations. The vulnerability effectively undermines the security boundaries between different organizations within the same Pivotal Application Service instance, potentially allowing lateral movement and information gathering across multiple tenants. Attackers could use this access to identify key personnel, understand organizational structures, and plan more sophisticated attacks targeting specific individuals or departments.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately upgrade to the patched versions mentioned in the CVE description to remediate the authorization enforcement flaw. The patch addresses the core issue by implementing proper validation of organization GUIDs during invitation creation, ensuring that users can only create invitations for organizations they legitimately belong to or have administrative rights within. Security teams should also conduct thorough audits of existing invitations and organization memberships to identify any unauthorized access that may have occurred. Additionally, implementing monitoring and alerting for unusual invitation creation patterns can help detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1531 for Account Access Removal, as it enables unauthorized access through legitimate platform mechanisms while potentially allowing attackers to establish persistence within target organizations. Organizations should also review their overall access control policies and implement additional security controls to prevent similar authorization bypass vulnerabilities in other components of their cloud infrastructure.