CVE-2018-11786 Improper Privilege Management in Apache Karaf

High 8.8 Published 18 Sep 2018 Updated 17 Sep 2024

Users with Karaf console access can read and write arbitrary files on the host filesystem if the SSH service is enabled without strict chroot or security manager policies.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2018-11786?

CVE-2018-11786 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Karaf, published on 18 Sep 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

In Apache Karaf prior to 4.2.0 release, if the sshd service in Karaf is left on so an administrator can manage the running instance, any user with rights to the Karaf console can pivot and read/write any file on the file system to which the Karaf process user has access. This can be locked down a bit by using chroot to change the root directory to protect files outside of the Karaf install directory; it can be further locked down by defining a security manager policy that limits file system access to those directories beneath the Karaf home that are necessary for the system to run. However, this still allows anyone with ssh access to the Karaf process to read and write a large number of files as the Karaf process user.

Weakness: CWE-269

Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-11786?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.karaf:apache-karaf. It affects 1 product.

Package	Affected	Fixed in
`org.apache.karaf:apache-karaf` Maven	All versions	`4.2.0`
`org.apache.karaf:apache-karaf` Maven	All versions	`4.2.0`

Products include Apache Karaf.

How do I fix CVE-2018-11786?

Upgrade org.apache.karaf:apache-karaf to 4.2.0 or later.

Is CVE-2018-11786 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-11786 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as GHSA-9448-c9wq-jg9v.