# CVE-2012-3542: OpenStack Keystone Allows Remote User Account Creation

> Remote attackers can add arbitrary users to arbitrary tenants via the administrative API, enabling unauthorized privilege escalation in OpenStack Keystone.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 5 Sep 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-3542, GHSA-gf2q-j2qq-pjf2, PYSEC-2012-19

## What is CVE-2012-3542?

CVE-2012-3542 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 5 Sep 2012. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

OpenStack Keystone, as used in OpenStack Folsom before folsom-rc1 and OpenStack Essex (2012.1), allows remote attackers to add an arbitrary user to an arbitrary tenant via a request to update the user's default tenant to the administrative API.  NOTE: this identifier was originally incorrectly assigned to an open redirect issue, but the correct identifier for that issue is CVE-2012-3540.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-3542?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including keystone. It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `keystone` | PyPI | All versions | None |
| `keystone` | PyPI | All versions | 2012.1 |
| `keystone` | PyPI | All versions | 2012.1 |

Products: Openstack Essex, Openstack Horizon.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-3542?

Upgrade keystone to 2012.1 or later.

## Is CVE-2012-3542 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-3542 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2013-0261](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0261/): Packstack: packstack: arbitrary file overwrite via symlink attack (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2013-0266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0266/): Information disclosure in Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 (Icehouse) (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2012-4573](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4573/): OpenStack Glance arbitrary deletion of non-protected images (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2012-5482](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-5482/): OpenStack Glance arbitrary deletion of non-protected images (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2012-3360](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3360/): OpenStack Nova Directory traversal vulnerability (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-3542 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-3542 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 5 Sep 2012. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-3542 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- keystone (PyPI): affected all versions; no fix listed
- keystone (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 2012.1
- keystone (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 2012.1

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3542/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3542/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-3542
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-3542
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-3542

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3542/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.