CVE-2022-24341 in TeamCity
Summary
by MITRE • 02/25/2022
In JetBrains TeamCity before 2021.2.1, editing a user account to change its password didn't terminate sessions of the edited user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/28/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-24341 affects JetBrains TeamCity versions prior to 2021.2.1, representing a critical session management flaw that undermines the security posture of user authentication systems. This issue resides within the user account management functionality where password changes fail to invalidate existing user sessions, creating a persistent security risk that can be exploited by attackers who have gained access to legitimate user credentials.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper session termination mechanism during password modification operations. When a user account password is changed through the TeamCity administrative interface, the system fails to invalidate previously established sessions belonging to that user. This behavior violates fundamental security principles of session management and privilege separation, as users who have already authenticated remain authorized even after their credentials have been altered. The vulnerability stems from inadequate session invalidation logic within the authentication subsystem, where the system assumes that password changes automatically invalidate all active sessions without explicitly implementing this critical security measure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session persistence issues, creating potential attack vectors for privilege escalation and unauthorized access. An attacker who has obtained valid credentials for a user account can maintain access to the TeamCity environment even after the legitimate user changes their password, effectively bypassing the intended security controls. This scenario is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where TeamCity serves as a central build and deployment system, as it could enable attackers to maintain persistent access to critical infrastructure while evading detection mechanisms that rely on session monitoring and credential rotation.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-613, which addresses insufficient session expiration, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1566 for credential harvesting and T1078 for valid accounts usage. Organizations utilizing TeamCity in production environments face significant risk of unauthorized access and potential data compromise, as the vulnerability allows for continuous access to build systems, code repositories, and deployment configurations. This persistent access capability enables attackers to monitor build processes, potentially inject malicious code into build pipelines, or manipulate deployment workflows to gain further system access.
The recommended mitigations include immediate upgrade to TeamCity version 2021.2.1 or later, where the session invalidation issue has been addressed. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring controls to detect unauthorized session persistence and establish automated processes for regular session cleanup. Security teams should review existing session management policies and consider implementing additional authentication controls such as multi-factor authentication to reduce the impact of credential compromise. The fix implemented in the patched version ensures that password changes automatically invalidate all active sessions for the affected user, restoring proper session management behavior and aligning with industry best practices for secure authentication systems.