CVE-2022-4134 in openstack-glance
Summary
by MITRE • 03/07/2023
A flaw was found in openstack-glance. This issue could allow a remote, authenticated attacker to tamper with images, compromising the integrity of virtual machines created using these modified images.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/31/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-4134 resides within the openstack-glance component, which serves as the image service for OpenStack cloud environments. This flaw represents a critical integrity issue that undermines the fundamental security assumptions of virtual machine image management within cloud infrastructures. The vulnerability affects the image registration and modification processes, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate image content without proper authorization. The flaw specifically impacts the validation mechanisms that should prevent unauthorized modifications to virtual machine images, potentially allowing attackers to inject malicious code or alter image properties that could compromise the entire virtualized environment.
This security weakness stems from inadequate input validation and insufficient access controls during image processing operations within the glance service. The vulnerability allows authenticated attackers to exploit the image management workflow to modify existing images or create new ones with altered content. The technical implementation fails to properly verify the integrity of image data during the registration process, enabling attackers to manipulate image metadata and content in ways that can persist across virtual machine deployments. The flaw operates at the application layer and leverages the authenticated access privileges of legitimate users, making it particularly dangerous as it can bypass traditional network-based security controls. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-220 which deals with improper handling of image data and CWE-345 which addresses insufficient verification of data integrity.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-4134 extends far beyond simple image manipulation, as compromised virtual machine images can lead to widespread system compromise across cloud deployments. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can create backdoors, inject malware, or alter system configurations that persist across multiple virtual machines. The attack surface is particularly concerning in multi-tenant environments where image integrity is crucial for maintaining isolation between different customers or departments. This vulnerability directly affects the supply chain security model of cloud environments, as compromised images can propagate malicious code to numerous virtual machines simultaneously. The potential for privilege escalation increases significantly when attackers can modify system images that are subsequently deployed to production environments. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1547.001 which covers registry run keys and startup folder and T1059 which involves command and scripting interpreter, as modified images can contain malicious payloads that execute during virtual machine boot processes.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-4134 should focus on strengthening image validation processes and implementing robust access controls. Organizations should immediately update their openstack-glance deployments to versions that address this vulnerability, typically through security patches released by the OpenStack community. Additional protective measures include implementing image signing mechanisms that verify image integrity before deployment, establishing strict access controls for image management operations, and deploying monitoring solutions that can detect unauthorized image modifications. Network segmentation and least privilege access principles should be enforced to limit the scope of potential exploitation. The implementation of automated image integrity checking mechanisms and regular security audits of image repositories can help detect compromised images. Organizations should also consider implementing container-based security controls and runtime monitoring to detect malicious activities that may result from compromised virtual machine images. Security teams must establish incident response procedures specifically designed to handle image integrity violations, including image quarantine and system reinstallation protocols to ensure complete remediation of affected environments.