CVE-2018-16856 in OpenStack Platform Director
Summary
by MITRE
In a default Red Hat Openstack Platform Director installation, openstack-octavia before versions openstack-octavia 2.0.2-5 and openstack-octavia-3.0.1-0.20181009115732 creates log files that are readable by all users. Sensitive information such as private keys can appear in these log files allowing for information exposure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/21/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-16856 affects Red Hat OpenStack Platform Director installations where the openstack-octavia service fails to properly secure log file permissions. This issue represents a critical configuration flaw that undermines the fundamental security principles of information protection and access control. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions of openstack-octavia prior to 2.0.2-5 and 3.0.1-0.20181009115732, where log files are created with world-readable permissions, exposing sensitive data to unauthorized users within the system environment. The flaw falls under CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource, which directly addresses inadequate access control mechanisms for system resources that should remain protected from unauthorized access.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper file permission handling during log file creation within the octavia service components responsible for load balancing and orchestration tasks. When octavia generates log entries, it creates files with default permissions that allow read access to all users on the system rather than restricting access to authorized administrative personnel only. This misconfiguration enables any user account on the system to read the log files containing sensitive operational data, including cryptographic keys, authentication tokens, and other confidential information required for system security. The exposure occurs through standard file system access controls where the default umask settings or explicit permission assignments fail to establish appropriate security boundaries for log data storage.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable privilege escalation and lateral movement attacks within the cloud infrastructure environment. Attackers who gain access to these log files can extract private keys and other sensitive credentials that may be used to authenticate to other system components, potentially compromising the entire OpenStack deployment. This exposure creates a vector for attackers to escalate their privileges and gain deeper access to the cloud platform, as the private keys found in log files could be used to impersonate legitimate system components or gain access to other services that rely on these credentials for authentication. The vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1074.001: Data Staged, where adversaries collect and extract sensitive data from compromised systems.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper file permission controls and access management policies. System administrators should upgrade to openstack-octavia versions 2.0.2-5 or 3.0.1-0.20181009115732 where the log file permission handling has been corrected. Additionally, manual permission adjustments should be implemented to ensure existing log files are not world-readable, typically through setting restrictive permissions such as 600 or 640 for log files. Organizations should also implement regular security audits to verify that log files maintain appropriate access controls and establish monitoring procedures to detect unauthorized access attempts to sensitive log data. The remediation process must include configuration management controls to prevent future recurrence of such permission misconfigurations across all system components that generate sensitive operational data.