CVE-2019-3869 in Tower
Summary
by MITRE
When running Tower before 3.4.3 on OpenShift or Kubernetes, application credentials are exposed to playbook job runs via environment variables. A malicious user with the ability to write playbooks could use this to gain administrative privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/17/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-3869 represents a critical security flaw in Ansible Tower versions prior to 3.4.3 when deployed on OpenShift or Kubernetes container platforms. This issue stems from improper handling of application credentials within the containerized execution environment, creating a significant attack surface that could be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability specifically affects the credential management system where sensitive authentication information becomes inadvertently accessible to playbook execution processes through environment variable injection mechanisms.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in how Ansible Tower manages and propagates credentials within containerized environments. When Tower executes playbooks on OpenShift or Kubernetes platforms, it fails to properly isolate credential information from the execution context. This allows environment variables containing application credentials to be passed through to the job execution containers, where they can be accessed by any playbook code running within those containers. The flaw essentially creates a credential leakage scenario where administrative authentication details become exposed to potentially untrusted playbook code execution.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables a malicious user with playbook writing privileges to escalate their access level to administrative privileges within the Ansible Tower environment. The exposure of application credentials through environment variables provides attackers with direct access to underlying systems and resources that the Tower instance manages. This credential exposure could lead to unauthorized access to production systems, data breaches, and potential lateral movement within the network infrastructure. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in multi-tenant environments where different users share the same Tower instance but should not have access to each other's credentials.
The security implications of this vulnerability align with CWE-200, which addresses "Information Exposure," and specifically relates to CWE-312, "Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information." Additionally, this weakness maps to ATT&CK technique T1555.003, "Credentials from Password Stores," as it involves the exposure of stored authentication credentials through improper environment variable handling. The vulnerability also demonstrates characteristics of privilege escalation techniques where attackers can leverage exposed credentials to gain elevated access levels within the system.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Ansible Tower 3.4.3 or later versions where this vulnerability has been addressed. The upgrade process should include thorough testing of existing playbooks and credential configurations to ensure compatibility with the fixed implementation. Additional protective measures include implementing strict access controls for playbook creation and execution, monitoring environment variable usage within job execution contexts, and regularly auditing credential exposure mechanisms. Organizations should also consider implementing container runtime security controls that can detect and prevent unauthorized credential access patterns, as well as establishing network segmentation to limit the potential impact of credential exposure within the broader infrastructure.