CVE-2021-24101 in Dynamics 365
Summary
by MITRE • 02/26/2021
Microsoft Dataverse Information Disclosure Vulnerability
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2021
Microsoft Dataverse represents a powerful low-code platform that enables organizations to build custom applications and manage data through a unified service interface. This platform serves as a central repository for business data and integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 services including Power Platform, Dynamics 365, and Azure services. The platform's architecture relies on robust authentication mechanisms and access control policies to ensure data integrity and confidentiality across tenant environments. Organizations depend heavily on Dataverse for storing sensitive operational data, customer information, and business-critical records that require strict security controls. The platform operates under Microsoft's comprehensive security framework which includes network isolation, encryption at rest and in transit, and role-based access controls designed to prevent unauthorized data access.
The vulnerability in question manifests as an information disclosure flaw that allows authenticated users to access data they should not have permission to view within the Dataverse environment. This represents a privilege escalation issue where users can potentially bypass the intended access control mechanisms through specific API calls or query parameters that do not properly validate user permissions against the target resources. The technical implementation appears to involve insufficient authorization checks during data retrieval operations, particularly when processing complex queries that traverse multiple entities or when using administrative APIs that should be restricted to privileged users only. The flaw likely exists in the platform's query processing engine where access control lists are not consistently enforced across all data access paths within the Dataverse service architecture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure as it can enable attackers with valid credentials to gather sensitive business intelligence, customer records, or operational data that would normally be restricted to specific roles within an organization. This information disclosure could facilitate further attacks including social engineering campaigns, competitive intelligence gathering, or even support more sophisticated exploitation attempts targeting other systems within the organization's ecosystem. The vulnerability affects both internal users who might abuse their privileges and external attackers who gain access through credential compromise or other initial footholds within the Microsoft 365 environment. Organizations using Dataverse for storing sensitive information face significant risk of data breaches that could result in regulatory compliance violations, financial penalties, and reputational damage.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patch application from Microsoft as part of regular security maintenance procedures, combined with comprehensive access control reviews to ensure users have appropriate least privilege permissions. Organizations should implement additional monitoring controls to detect unusual API access patterns or unauthorized data queries that could indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be reviewed to limit unnecessary access to Dataverse endpoints, while privileged access workstations should be implemented for administrative tasks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues and may map to ATT&CK techniques such as T1078 Valid Accounts and T1566 Phishing, particularly when considering how attackers might leverage compromised credentials to exploit this information disclosure weakness. Regular security assessments should include testing of access control mechanisms within Dataverse environments to ensure proper enforcement of authorization policies across all data access methods and API endpoints.