Vault: Not Failing Securely
CVE-2024-8185 is a high-severity not failing securely vulnerability in Vault from HashiCorp, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists version 1.18.1 as the first without the flaw, so updating Vault to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.48% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Vault to 1.18.1 or a later version.
- Update Vault Enterprise to 1.18.1 or a later version.
- Update Openbao to 2.0.3 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on discuss.hashicorp.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| HashiCorp | Vault | 1.2.0 up to, but not including, 1.18.1 | 1.18.1 |
| HashiCorp | Vault Enterprise | 1.2.0 up to, but not including, 1.18.1 | 1.18.1 |
| Openbao | Openbao | before 2.0.3 | 2.0.3 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- NoneNo data is disclosed.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Scored by CNA (hashicorp.com).
Official description
Vault Community and Vault Enterprise (“Vault”) clusters using Vault’s Integrated Storage backend are vulnerable to a denial-of-service (DoS) attack through memory exhaustion through a Raft cluster join API endpoint . An attacker may send a large volume of requests to the endpoint which may cause Vault to consume excessive system memory resources, potentially leading to a crash of the underlying system and the Vault process itself. This vulnerability, CVE-2024-8185, is fixed in Vault Community 1.18.1 and Vault Enterprise 1.18.1, 1.17.8, and 1.16.12.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Not Failing Securely
When the product encounters an error condition or failure, its design requires it to fall back to a state that is less secure than other options that are available, such as selecting the weakest encryption algorithm or using the most permissive access control restrictions.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Subdivide and allocate resources and components so that a failure in one part does not affect the entire product.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other vulnerabilities in Vault
- 7.2 High severity
- 8.0 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.6 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
Recent Not Failing Securely vulnerabilities
- 7.8 High severity
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