CVE-2023-51786 in Lustre
Summary
by MITRE • 03/07/2024
An issue was discovered in Lustre versions 2.13.x, 2.14.x, and 2.15.x before 2.15.4, allows attackers to escalate privileges and obtain sensitive information via Incorrect Access Control.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/15/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-51786 represents a critical access control flaw within the Lustre distributed file system implementation. This issue affects multiple major release branches including 2.13.x, 2.14.x, and 2.15.x versions prior to the secure 2.15.4 release. The flaw manifests as an improper access control mechanism that enables malicious actors to escalate their privileges and gain unauthorized access to sensitive system information. Lustre, being a high-performance distributed file system commonly deployed in enterprise environments and scientific computing clusters, presents a significant security risk when such access control vulnerabilities exist within its core components.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of user permissions and access rights within the Lustre kernel modules. Attackers can exploit this weakness to bypass normal authentication and authorization checks that should prevent unauthorized users from accessing restricted file system operations or sensitive metadata. This improper access control allows for privilege escalation attacks where unprivileged users can potentially gain administrative privileges or access confidential data that should remain protected. The vulnerability specifically impacts the Lustre file system's ability to properly enforce access control policies, creating a pathway for attackers to manipulate file system operations and extract sensitive information from the underlying storage infrastructure.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-51786 extends beyond simple information disclosure to encompass full privilege escalation capabilities within affected Lustre deployments. Organizations utilizing Lustre file systems in production environments face potential data breaches, unauthorized system modifications, and complete compromise of their distributed storage infrastructure. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in high-performance computing environments where Lustre is commonly deployed, as these systems often handle sensitive research data, proprietary information, or critical infrastructure data. The impact is amplified when considering that many of these environments operate with elevated privileges and access to critical system resources, making the privilege escalation aspect of this vulnerability especially dangerous from an operational security perspective.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-51786 should prioritize immediate deployment of the patched Lustre version 2.15.4 or equivalent security updates for affected 2.13.x and 2.14.x branches. System administrators should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all affected Lustre installations within their infrastructure and implement proper access controls to limit potential exploitation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control issues, and may map to ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and credential access. Organizations should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing distributed file system vulnerabilities. Regular security updates and patch management processes should be strengthened to prevent similar access control issues from emerging in other system components.