CVE-2026-5136 in Satellite
Summary
by MITRE • 07/01/2026
A flaw was found in Foreman. The Usergroup model in Foreman does not properly validate role assignments against the calling user's permissions. This allows an authenticated user with usergroup management permissions to attach arbitrary roles, including administrative roles, to a user group and then add themselves as a member. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability leads to full privilege escalation, granting the attacker administrator-level access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2026
This vulnerability exists within the Foreman system's Usergroup model implementation where role assignment validation mechanisms fail to properly verify whether the calling user possesses sufficient permissions to assign specific roles. The flaw stems from inadequate access control checks that allow authenticated users with merely usergroup management privileges to bypass normal permission boundaries and assign administrative roles to user groups. This represents a critical authorization bypass vulnerability that directly violates principle of least privilege enforcement. The vulnerability enables attackers to escalate their privileges by leveraging the existing usergroup management functionality to attach elevated roles including administrative permissions to user groups they control.
The technical implementation flaw occurs at the model validation layer where role assignments are not properly cross-referenced against the calling user's permission set before being committed to the system. This allows malicious actors to exploit the system's trust in legitimate usergroup management operations to gain unauthorized access to administrative functions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the core identity and access management components of Foreman, making it a prime target for privilege escalation attacks. The flaw essentially creates an insecure direct object reference scenario where users can manipulate role assignments without proper authorization checks.
Operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete system compromise. An attacker who gains usergroup management permissions can immediately elevate their access level to administrative status by simply adding themselves to a user group with elevated roles. This allows full control over system configuration, user management, resource allocation, and potentially access to sensitive data within the Foreman environment. The vulnerability undermines the entire security model of the application since it enables attackers to bypass multiple layers of access controls through legitimate system interfaces.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing comprehensive permission validation at the role assignment level within the Usergroup model. Organizations should immediately restrict usergroup management permissions to trusted administrative users only and implement strict role-based access control policies that prevent users from assigning roles beyond their own privilege level. The system should enforce mandatory access controls that validate all role assignments against the calling user's current permissions before allowing modifications. Additionally, implementing audit logging for all role assignment changes will help detect unauthorized privilege escalation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 (Valid Accounts) and T1548 (Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism) in the adversary tactics framework.