CVE-2024-22459: Dell EMC ECS Improper Access Control Vulnerability Affects Multiple Versions - Details on Exploit and Remediation

Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS) is a widely used object storage solution deployed by many organizations for data storage and backup purposes. ECS provides high availability and resiliency to support mission-critical applications while delivering low latency and high scalable performance.

Recently, a critical improper access control vulnerability affecting multiple Dell ECS versions was identified. This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2024-22459.

Exploit Details

The vulnerability lies in the way that Dell EMC ECS handles access controls. An attacker with high-level privileges could exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to all buckets and their respective data within a specific namespace. This could lead to data theft, corruption, or denial of service attacks.

The following code snippet demonstrates a part of the affected function in the vulnerable ECS code

def check_access(grant_list):
    for grant in grant_list:
        if grant.user == 'HighPrivUsers':
            continue
        else:
            check_namespace(grant.user, grant.access)

    return access_control

def check_namespace(user, access):
    if user in namespace_members and access not in ['private', 'public-read', 'public-write']:
        return False
    return True

As observed in the code above, if the user belongs to a high privileged user group ('HighPrivUsers'), the function check_namespace is not executed. This allows the high privileged user to bypass access control checks, thus allowing unauthorized access to all the buckets and their data within a namespace.

Original References

- Dell EMC Security Advisory: DSA-2025-024
- NIST National Vulnerability Database: CVE-2024-22459

3.8..4 Patch 9

It is highly recommended that organizations running the vulnerable versions apply these patches as soon as possible to mitigate the risk of exploitation.

In addition to patching, administrators can consider the following recommendations to add further protection:

1. Regularly review and update user privileges to ensure that only necessary privileges are granted to users.

2. Implement strict network access controls, making it difficult for attackers to gain access to the internal network and exploit the vulnerability.

3. Employ monitoring tools to detect any unusual behavior or access patterns, which could potentially indicate a compromise.

Conclusion

This improper access control vulnerability in Dell ECS can have severe consequences for affected organizations that store sensitive or mission-critical data in their storage systems. It is crucial to apply the provided patches and follow best practice recommendations to strengthen the security posture and minimize the risks associated with this vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 02/28/2024 09:15:43 UTC
Last modified on: 02/28/2024 14:06:45 UTC