CVE-2019-3891 in Satellite
Summary
by MITRE
It was discovered that a world-readable log file belonging to Candlepin component of Red Hat Satellite 6.4 leaked the credentials of the Candlepin database. A malicious user with local access to a Satellite host can use those credentials to modify the database and prevent Satellite from fetching package updates, thus preventing all Satellite hosts from accessing those updates.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/29/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-3891 represents a critical misconfiguration issue within the Candlepin component of Red Hat Satellite 6.4, a systems management platform widely used in enterprise environments. This flaw stems from improper file permissions that resulted in a world-readable log file containing sensitive database credentials. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource, which specifically addresses situations where security-critical resources receive inadequate access controls. The affected Candlepin service generates log files that inadvertently expose authentication information, creating an attack surface that violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and proper access control.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through local privilege escalation or lateral movement within a compromised system. A malicious actor with local access to the Satellite host can simply read the world-readable log file to extract the database credentials. This access allows the attacker to establish direct database connections and perform unauthorized modifications to the Candlepin database. The credential leakage directly enables persistence mechanisms and provides the attacker with elevated privileges within the system's core components. This vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of insecure logging practices where sensitive information is written to files without proper access control measures, creating a persistent security risk that can be exploited by any local user.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-3891 extends far beyond simple credential theft, as it enables a range of malicious activities that can severely disrupt enterprise operations. Once an attacker gains access to the database credentials, they can modify the Candlepin database to manipulate package update information, effectively creating a denial-of-service condition that prevents all Satellite hosts from accessing critical updates. This disruption can cascade through an organization's infrastructure, potentially leaving systems vulnerable to security threats or preventing essential maintenance operations. The vulnerability also enables data integrity attacks where malicious modifications to package metadata could introduce backdoors or compromise the trust model of the entire Satellite deployment. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078.004: Valid Accounts, T1484.001: Group Policy Modification, and T1566.001: Spearphishing Attachment, as it provides a pathway for attackers to establish persistent access and manipulate system configurations.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-3891 require immediate remediation of file permissions and implementation of proper logging security practices. Organizations should ensure that all log files containing sensitive information are configured with restrictive permissions, typically limiting access to the specific service account or administrative users only. The recommended approach involves setting file permissions to 600 or more restrictive, ensuring that only authorized processes can read the log contents. Additionally, implementing log rotation with proper access controls and removing sensitive data from log files through sanitization processes can prevent similar issues. The fix should also include regular security audits of file permissions and logging configurations to identify and remediate similar misconfigurations. Organizations should implement monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized access attempts to sensitive files and establish automated alerting for permission changes on critical system files. The remediation process should be part of broader security hardening procedures that align with industry standards such as NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001 requirements for access control and information security management.