CVE-2024-38201 in Azure Stack Hub
Summary
by MITRE • 08/13/2024
Azure Stack Hub Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2026
This vulnerability resides within Microsoft Azure Stack Hub, a hybrid cloud platform that extends azure services to on-premises environments. The elevation of privilege flaw allows authenticated attackers with minimal privileges to escalate their access rights within the system. The technical implementation involves insufficient authorization checks within the platform's management interfaces and underlying services, creating pathways for privilege escalation. The vulnerability manifests when legitimate users can manipulate system calls or API endpoints to gain higher-level administrative permissions without proper authentication or authorization verification. This weakness directly impacts the platform's integrity and confidentiality by potentially enabling unauthorized access to critical system resources, configuration data, and user information. The flaw exists across multiple Azure Stack Hub components including the management portal, api endpoints, and underlying service controllers that handle administrative operations. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability through carefully crafted requests that bypass normal access controls, potentially leading to complete system compromise and unauthorized data manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential data breaches, system corruption, and unauthorized administrative actions. Organizations relying on Azure Stack Hub for mission-critical workloads face significant risks when this vulnerability is exploited, as attackers could gain access to sensitive customer data, modify system configurations, or disable critical services. The vulnerability affects the platform's core security model by undermining the principle of least privilege, which is fundamental to secure system design. This weakness can be leveraged by both internal and external threat actors to gain unauthorized access to the hybrid cloud environment, potentially affecting thousands of connected systems and services. The exploitability of this vulnerability is enhanced by the distributed nature of Azure Stack Hub, where compromised components can serve as entry points for broader network infiltration. Security professionals must consider the cascading effects of such an attack, as the compromised system could provide access to connected cloud resources, on-premises networks, and customer data repositories.
Mitigation strategies for this Azure Stack Hub elevation of privilege vulnerability require immediate patch deployment from Microsoft, as the fix addresses the underlying authorization logic flaws in the platform's security architecture. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring solutions to detect anomalous privilege escalation attempts, utilizing security information and event management systems to track authentication patterns and access control violations. Network segmentation and microsegmentation should be employed to limit the potential impact of a successful exploitation, ensuring that even if one component is compromised, lateral movement remains restricted. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify additional weaknesses in the hybrid cloud environment. The implementation of multi-factor authentication and strict access control policies can significantly reduce the attack surface for privilege escalation attempts. Organizations must also review and update their incident response procedures to ensure rapid detection and remediation of such security violations. Compliance frameworks such as nist 800-53 and iso 27001 emphasize the importance of proper access control and privilege management, making this vulnerability a critical focus area for security governance. The fix addresses specific CWE entries related to insufficient authorization and privilege escalation, aligning with established security standards for secure software development and system administration practices.