CVE-2022-35802 in Azure Site Recovery VMWare to Azure
Summary
by MITRE • 08/10/2022
Azure Site Recovery Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2022-35774, CVE-2022-35775, CVE-2022-35780, CVE-2022-35781, CVE-2022-35782, CVE-2022-35783, CVE-2022-35784, CVE-2022-35785, CVE-2022-35786, CVE-2022-35787, CVE-2022-35788, CVE-2022-35789, CVE-2022-35790, CVE-2022-35791, CVE-2022-35799, CVE-2022-35800, CVE-2022-35801, CVE-2022-35807, CVE-2022-35808, CVE-2022-35809, CVE-2022-35810, CVE-2022-35811, CVE-2022-35812, CVE-2022-35813, CVE-2022-35814, CVE-2022-35815, CVE-2022-35816, CVE-2022-35817, CVE-2022-35818, CVE-2022-35819.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/04/2022
The Azure Site Recovery service presents a critical elevation of privilege vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers to escalate their privileges within the Azure environment. This vulnerability specifically affects the recovery services vaults and their associated replication mechanisms, creating a pathway for malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to sensitive resources. The flaw resides in the permission validation processes that govern how Azure Site Recovery handles user access controls during replication and failover operations. Attackers who can authenticate to the service may exploit this weakness to perform actions that should be restricted to administrators or specific privileged roles, effectively bypassing the intended security boundaries.
This vulnerability stems from improper validation of user permissions within the Azure Site Recovery component, particularly when processing replication requests and managing recovery point operations. The technical implementation fails to adequately verify whether the requesting user possesses sufficient privileges to perform certain administrative functions. According to CWE-284, this represents an inadequate access control mechanism where the system does not properly enforce authorization checks. The flaw manifests when legitimate users attempt to perform operations that require elevated permissions, but the system incorrectly grants access based on insufficient validation of the user's actual privileges. This creates a dangerous situation where standard users or compromised accounts can execute privileged operations without proper authorization.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, potentially enabling attackers to access, modify, or delete critical backup and recovery data. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to gain access to sensitive recovery point information, manipulate replication settings, or even disable protection mechanisms for critical workloads. The consequences could include data exposure, service disruption, and potential compromise of entire recovery environments. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts for persistence and privilege escalation, as attackers can use legitimate credentials to exploit the flaw and gain unauthorized elevated access. Organizations relying on Azure Site Recovery for disaster recovery and business continuity may face significant operational risks if this vulnerability is exploited.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected Azure Site Recovery components and implementation of additional monitoring controls. Microsoft has released security updates addressing this specific flaw, and organizations should prioritize applying these patches to their Azure environments. Additionally, implementing enhanced monitoring of privileged operations within recovery services vaults can help detect potential exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and least privilege access controls should be enforced to limit the potential damage from any successful exploitation. Security teams should also review and audit existing access controls for Azure Site Recovery services, ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to critical recovery operations. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning of Azure environments can help identify similar weaknesses in other components of the Microsoft Azure platform, supporting broader defensive measures against privilege escalation attacks.