CVE-2022-21307 in MySQL Cluster
Summary
by MITRE • 01/19/2022
Vulnerability in the MySQL Cluster product of Oracle MySQL (component: Cluster: General). Supported versions that are affected are 7.4.34 and prior, 7.5.24 and prior, 7.6.20 and prior and 8.0.27 and prior. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with access to the physical communication segment attached to the hardware where the MySQL Cluster executes to compromise MySQL Cluster. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of MySQL Cluster. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.3 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/24/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-21307 represents a significant security flaw within Oracle MySQL Cluster implementations that affects multiple version branches including 7.4.34 and earlier, 7.5.24 and earlier, 7.6.20 and earlier, and 8.0.27 and earlier. This vulnerability resides within the Cluster: General component of the MySQL Cluster product, which serves as the foundational architecture for distributed database operations. The flaw manifests as a difficulty in exploitation scenario that requires specific environmental conditions and attacker privileges, making it particularly concerning for organizations operating in environments where physical network access can be compromised. The CVSS 3.1 scoring system rates this vulnerability at 6.3, indicating a medium severity level with high impacts across confidentiality, integrity, and availability domains, which aligns with CWE-284 access control weaknesses and represents a significant threat to database system integrity.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and potential communication channel compromises within the MySQL Cluster's network architecture. Attackers who gain access to the physical communication segment where MySQL Cluster operates can leverage this vulnerability to achieve complete system compromise, essentially allowing them to take full control of the database cluster. The requirement for human interaction from individuals other than the attacker suggests that social engineering or physical access scenarios may be necessary to establish the initial conditions for exploitation, though the actual attack vector appears to exploit network-level vulnerabilities within the cluster communication protocols. This type of vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and defense evasion categories, as it enables attackers to gain higher privileges and potentially bypass security controls that would normally protect the database system.
The operational impact of successful exploitation of CVE-2022-21307 extends far beyond simple data compromise, as it can result in complete takeover of the MySQL Cluster environment. This complete system compromise means that attackers could potentially access all database contents, modify or delete critical information, disrupt database services, and establish persistent access points within the organization's infrastructure. The availability impact is particularly severe since the attacker could potentially bring down critical database services or render the entire cluster unusable. Organizations running affected MySQL Cluster versions face significant risk, especially those with limited physical security controls or those that operate in environments where unauthorized physical access to network equipment is possible. The vulnerability's classification under CVSS vector AV:A/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U indicates that attackers need to be physically present on the network segment, have high privileges, and require some form of human interaction to successfully exploit the weakness, yet the potential consequences remain extremely serious.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation efforts by upgrading to patched versions of MySQL Cluster that address this vulnerability, particularly focusing on the affected version ranges mentioned in the CVE description. The mitigation strategy should include implementing robust physical security controls around network infrastructure, monitoring network segments for unauthorized access attempts, and ensuring that privileged network access is properly controlled and audited. Additional defensive measures should encompass network segmentation to isolate database clusters from general network traffic, implementation of intrusion detection systems specifically monitoring for cluster communication anomalies, and regular security assessments of physical access controls. The vulnerability's nature also necessitates careful review of access control policies and procedures, as well as employee training on recognizing potential social engineering attempts that could facilitate exploitation. Organizations should consider implementing network access control lists and monitoring for unusual communication patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, as this vulnerability specifically targets the communication layer of the cluster architecture. The ATT&CK framework suggests implementing detection capabilities for privilege escalation attempts and monitoring for abnormal cluster behavior that could indicate successful compromise of the database system.