CVE-2018-15762 in Operations Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Pivotal Operations Manager, versions 2.0.x prior to 2.0.24, versions 2.1.x prior to 2.1.15, versions 2.2.x prior to 2.2.7, and versions 2.3.x prior to 2.3.1, grants all users a scope which allows for privilege escalation. A remote malicious user who has been authenticated may create a new client with administrator privileges for Opsman.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/04/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-15762 affects Pivotal Operations Manager, a platform used for managing cloud infrastructure deployments. This critical privilege escalation flaw exists across multiple version ranges including 2.0.x through 2.3.x, specifically before the patched releases 2.0.24, 2.1.15, 2.2.7, and 2.3.1 respectively. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access control mechanisms within the platform's authentication and authorization framework, allowing authenticated users to exploit a design flaw that permits arbitrary privilege elevation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the platform's client management system where authenticated users can manipulate the scope assignment process to create new administrative client accounts. This flaw operates at the application level and leverages the principle of least privilege violation, where users who should have limited permissions can escalate their privileges to full administrative access. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-276 as improper privilege management and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and privilege escalation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to organizations using Pivotal Operations Manager as it allows remote attackers who have gained initial access to the system to elevate their privileges without requiring additional authentication credentials. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation to potentially enable complete system compromise, as administrative access would allow attackers to modify system configurations, access sensitive data, manipulate deployments, and potentially pivot to other systems within the network. The vulnerability affects the platform's core security model and undermines the trust boundary between authenticated users and system resources.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-15762 should focus on immediate patching of all affected versions to the latest releases containing the security fixes. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to the Operations Manager system, enforce strict access controls and monitoring of administrative activities, and conduct thorough security assessments of the platform's configuration. Additionally, implementing multi-factor authentication and regular privilege reviews can help reduce the impact if exploitation occurs. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper access control implementation and the need for continuous security testing of authentication mechanisms as outlined in NIST SP 800-53 security controls. Organizations should also consider implementing security monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous privilege escalation activities and maintain detailed audit logs of all administrative operations within the platform.