Security Vulnerability CVE-2022-44646: User Settings Audit Logging Bypass in JetBrains TeamCity

A recently discovered vulnerability, CVE-2022-44646, affects JetBrains TeamCity versions prior to 2022.10. This security flaw allows a malicious user to bypass audit logging by editing a user's settings without leaving any trace of these changes in the system's audit log.

In this post, we will discuss the details of this vulnerability, provide a code snippet demonstrating the issue, and link to original sources and references for further information. Understanding this exploit will help developers and administrators to secure their JetBrains TeamCity installations and protect their users.

The Vulnerability Explained

In affected JetBrains TeamCity versions, when a user's settings are modified, no corresponding audit items are added to the system's audit log. This lack of audit logging means that an attacker who gains sufficient permissions to edit user settings can make changes without leaving any trace. Consequently, this security flaw could lead to unauthorized actions and potential data breaches without detection.

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of proper audit logging implementation in the JetBrains TeamCity codebase. To show the code snippet responsible for this vulnerability, consider the following example:

public class UserService {
    public void editUser(User user, UserUpdates updates) {
        updateUserSettings(user, updates);
        // No audit log entry added here
    }

    private void updateUserSettings(User user, UserUpdates updates) {
        // Code for updating user settings
    }
}

In the example above, the editUser method updates the user settings using the updateUserSettings method, but it does not create any audit log entries, thus allowing user settings changes to go undetected.

Mitigating the Vulnerability

To address this vulnerability, ensure that your JetBrains TeamCity installation is updated to version 2022.10 or later, where the issue has been resolved by adding proper audit log entries for user settings changes.

public class UserService {
    public void editUser(User user, UserUpdates updates) {
        updateUserSettings(user, updates);
        // Audit log entry added
        addAuditLogEntry(user, updates);
    }

    private void updateUserSettings(User user, UserUpdates updates) {
        // Code for updating user settings
    }

    private void addAuditLogEntry(User user, UserUpdates updates) {
        // Code for creating an audit log entry for the user settings change
    }
}

In the updated code snippet, the editUser method now contains a call to the addAuditLogEntry method, which generates an audit log entry for each user settings change.

For more information regarding CVE-2022-44646, consult the following resources

1. JetBrains Security Bulletin: https://blog.jetbrains.com/teamcity/2021/12/teamcity-2022-3-security-update/
2. CVE Details: https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2022-44646/
3. NIST National Vulnerability Database: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-44646

Conclusion

CVE-2022-44646 highlights the importance of including audit log functionality in any software that deals with sensitive user data. By staying informed about security vulnerabilities like this one and keeping their JetBrains TeamCity installations up to date, developers and administrators can help maintain the security and integrity of their systems.

Timeline

Published on: 11/03/2022 14:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/03/2022 18:03:00 UTC