CVE-2018-15665 in Data Science Workbench
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Cloudera Data Science Workbench (CDSW) 1.2.x through 1.4.0. Unauthenticated users can get a list of user accounts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/26/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-15665 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within Cloudera Data Science Workbench versions 1.2.x through 1.4.0. This security weakness allows unauthenticated attackers to enumerate user accounts without requiring any valid credentials or authentication tokens. The issue stems from insufficient access controls and improper authorization mechanisms within the application's user management interface, creating a pathway for malicious actors to discover valid user accounts that could subsequently be targeted for further attacks.
This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the user enumeration functionality of CDSW. The technical flaw manifests as a lack of proper authentication checks when accessing user account listing endpoints, enabling any remote attacker to query the system and receive responses containing user account information. The flaw falls under CWE-284 which describes improper access control issues, and more specifically aligns with ATT&CK technique T1087.001 for account discovery through enumeration of user accounts. The vulnerability exists due to inadequate input validation and access control implementation, where the system fails to verify that requests originate from authenticated users before returning sensitive account data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it provides attackers with a foundational element for subsequent attack vectors. Once user accounts are discovered, attackers can leverage this information for credential stuffing attacks, brute force attempts, or social engineering campaigns targeting specific individuals. The exposure of user accounts creates a reconnaissance advantage for threat actors, potentially enabling them to identify high-value targets within the organization. This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality and integrity aspects of the CIA triad, as it allows unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user information that should remain protected within a secure data science environment.
Organizations utilizing affected CDSW versions should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates released after the vulnerability disclosure. Network-level restrictions should be implemented to limit access to the CDSW application to authorized personnel only, while also enforcing strong authentication mechanisms and access controls. The mitigation strategy should include monitoring for unauthorized access attempts and implementing rate limiting on account enumeration endpoints to prevent automated discovery attacks. Additionally, security teams should conduct comprehensive audits of their data science platform configurations to ensure that all authentication and authorization controls are properly enforced throughout the application stack, aligning with security best practices outlined in frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001.