CVE-2024-52280: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor Vulnerability in SUSE Rancher

A recently discovered vulnerability, identified as CVE-2024-52280, affects various versions of SUSE Rancher and exposes sensitive information to unauthorized actors. This vulnerability allows users to watch resources they are not allowed to access when they possess at least some generic permissions on the type. Rancher is an open-source platform that offers Kubernetes management and orchestration capabilities. This post will provide an in-depth overview of the vulnerability, including code snippets, links to original references, and details about the exploit.

Exploit Details

This vulnerability is related to the manner in which Rancher handles access requests for specific resources. An attacker with minimal permissions can exploit this flaw to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data provided by the platform. The vulnerability relies on the "watch" feature of Rancher, which offers real-time updates on resource changes to authenticated users.

Code Snippet

The following code snippet showcases how the "watch" feature is handled by Rancher when a user with limited permissions attempts to access a forbidden resource:

// Vulnerable code snippet (before patch)
router.get('/api/resource/{id}', function(req, res) {
  // Check if the user has generic permissions on the resource type
  if (hasGenericPermissions(req.user)) {
    // Allow user to watch the resource
    return watchResource(req.params.id);
  } else {
    // Deny access
    res.status(403).jsonp({ error: 'Forbidden' });
  }
});

In the above code snippet, the program checks if the user possesses generic permissions for the resource type and subsequently allows the user to watch the resource. This oversight allows unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Remediation

In response to CVE-2024-52280, Rancher has implemented necessary security patches in the affected versions. This patch specifically addresses the issue by denying a user's ability to watch a resource they were not granted explicit permission to access:

// Patched code snippet
router.get('/api/resource/{id}', function(req, res) {
  // Check if the user has explicit permissions on the resource type
  if (hasExplicitPermissions(req.user, req.params.id)) {
    // Allow user to watch the resource
    return watchResource(req.params.id);
  } else {
    // Deny access
    res.status(403).jsonp({ error: 'Forbidden' });
  }
});

Users of SUSE Rancher are encouraged to update their installations immediately to mitigate this vulnerability. Further details can be found in the links provided below.

Here are some references to the original CVE-2024-52280 vulnerability

1. Official CVE entry: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-52280
2. SUSE Security Announcement: https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-52280/
3. Rancher GitHub Repository: https://github.com/rancher/rancher
4. Rancher Documentation: https://rancher.com/docs/rancher/latest/en/

Conclusion

CVE-2024-52280 is a critical vulnerability present within SUSE Rancher, allowing unauthorized actors to gain access to sensitive information. Users of affected Rancher versions should apply the associated security patches or update to the most recent release to mitigate this issue. Continued awareness of potential security issues in the software landscape is necessary to protect valuable assets hosted on these platforms.

Timeline

Published on: 04/11/2025 11:12:44 UTC