CVE-2022-24686 in Nomad
Summary
by MITRE • 02/14/2022
HashiCorp Nomad and Nomad Enterprise 0.3.0 through 1.0.17, 1.1.11, and 1.2.5 artifact download functionality has a race condition such that the Nomad client agent could download the wrong artifact into the wrong destination. Fixed in 1.0.18, 1.1.12, and 1.2.6
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/17/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-24686 represents a critical race condition within HashiCorp Nomad and Nomad Enterprise versions ranging from 0.3.0 through 1.0.17, 1.1.11, and 1.2.5. This flaw specifically affects the artifact download functionality that governs how Nomad client agents retrieve and store distributed application components. The race condition manifests during concurrent artifact download operations where multiple processes or threads attempt to access and modify shared resources simultaneously without proper synchronization mechanisms. This fundamental design flaw creates an environment where the Nomad client agent may inadvertently download artifacts intended for one job or task into the execution context of another, potentially leading to unauthorized code execution or data corruption scenarios.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate thread safety measures within the artifact handling subsystem. When multiple jobs or tasks request artifacts simultaneously, the system fails to properly coordinate access to temporary storage locations and destination directories. This condition allows for a scenario where an attacker could manipulate the timing of download operations to cause artifacts to be written to incorrect paths or overwriting legitimate files. The underlying issue aligns with CWE-362, which categorizes race conditions as a common security weakness where concurrent operations can lead to unpredictable behavior. The vulnerability essentially creates a situation where the integrity of deployed artifacts cannot be guaranteed, as the system cannot ensure that the correct artifact reaches the correct destination during parallel processing scenarios.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption, potentially enabling significant security compromises within Nomad environments. When artifacts are downloaded to incorrect destinations, it can result in malicious code execution within legitimate job contexts, or conversely, legitimate artifacts may be replaced with malicious versions. This poses a serious threat to containerized application deployments where Nomad orchestrates complex microservices architectures. Attackers could exploit this race condition to inject malicious code into running applications, manipulate service behavior, or establish persistence mechanisms within the orchestration environment. The vulnerability affects both Nomad and Nomad Enterprise editions, indicating a widespread impact across different deployment scenarios and customer configurations. Organizations relying on Nomad for production workloads face potential service disruption, data integrity violations, and compromised security postures when operating within affected versions.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-24686 focus primarily on immediate version upgrades to patched releases including Nomad 1.0.18, 1.1.12, and 1.2.6, which contain the necessary synchronization fixes. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all Nomad agents and servers are updated across their infrastructure. Additionally, system administrators should monitor for unauthorized artifact modifications and implement strict access controls around artifact repositories. The fix addresses the race condition through enhanced locking mechanisms and proper resource coordination during concurrent download operations, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for execution through command and script interpreters. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of their Nomad deployments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and establish monitoring protocols for anomalous artifact download patterns. Organizations may also consider implementing artifact integrity verification mechanisms, such as cryptographic checksum validation, to provide additional layers of protection against potential exploitation attempts.