CVE-2018-14866 in Community
Summary
by MITRE
Incorrect access control in the TransientModel framework in Odoo Community 11.0 and earlier and Odoo Enterprise 11.0 and earlier allows authenticated attackers to access data in transient records that they do not own by making an RPC call before garbage collection occurs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/17/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2018-14866 represents a critical access control flaw within the TransientModel framework of Odoo versions 11.0 and earlier. This issue affects both the Community and Enterprise editions of the popular open source business management software. The flaw stems from improper handling of transient records during the garbage collection process, creating a window of opportunity for authenticated attackers to access sensitive data they should not be authorized to view.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the TransientModel framework where Odoo stores temporary data that should be automatically cleaned up after a specific period. However, the access control mechanisms fail to properly validate user permissions during the brief window between when a transient record is created and when it is garbage collected. This creates a race condition where an authenticated user can make an RPC call to access transient records before they are removed from memory, effectively bypassing normal access controls that would normally prevent unauthorized data access.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations using Odoo for business management and ERP functions. The impact extends beyond simple data exposure to potentially compromise business-critical information including financial records, customer data, employee information, and other sensitive business assets. Attackers can exploit this flaw to gain unauthorized access to data that should remain private to specific users or roles within the organization. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only authenticated access, meaning that an attacker who has obtained legitimate user credentials can leverage this flaw to expand their unauthorized data access capabilities.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues, specifically representing a weakness in permissions and access control mechanisms. It also maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts, as the attacker requires legitimate credentials to make the RPC calls that trigger the vulnerability. Additionally, this flaw demonstrates characteristics of T1003 Credential Dumping and T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, as unauthorized access to transient records may provide attackers with additional information that could be used for further exploitation.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to patched versions of Odoo where available, implementing additional access controls and monitoring around RPC calls, and conducting thorough audits of user permissions and access patterns. Network segmentation and monitoring of RPC traffic can help detect potential exploitation attempts. System administrators should also review and tighten access controls for transient data handling, ensuring that proper authorization checks occur even during the brief window before garbage collection. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar access control weaknesses in other parts of the application stack.
The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper access control implementation in temporary data handling mechanisms and demonstrates how seemingly minor flaws in application frameworks can lead to significant security breaches. Organizations using Odoo should treat this vulnerability as a high-priority issue requiring immediate attention and remediation to protect their business data and maintain compliance with data protection regulations.