Kibana, a popular analytics and visualization platform, has recently come under scrutiny due to the discovery of a critical security vulnerability. The vulnerability in question, known as CVE-2024-52972, stems from a lack of resource allocation limits and throttling in the software. This oversight allows malicious users to execute a specially crafted request that ultimately results in Kibana crashing.
In this long-read post, we'll delve deeper into the details surrounding CVE-2024-52972, examine a code snippet that demonstrates the exploit, and provide links to the original references and sources of information. Our goal is to equip you with enough knowledge to understand the threat posed by this vulnerability and take appropriate precautions.
The Exploit
As mentioned earlier, the crux of CVE-2024-52972 lies in the absence of resource allocation limits and throttling. This allows malicious users with read access to the Observability Metrics or Logs features in Kibana to initiate a crash. The crash occurs when the attacker sends a specially crafted request to Kibana's /api/metrics/snapshot endpoint.
Here's what a sample request might look like
POST /api/metrics/snapshot HTTP/1.1
Host: kibana.example.com
Content-Length: N
Content-Type: application/json
{
"startDate": "2024-04-01T00:00:00.000Z",
"endDate": "2024-04-30T23:59:59.000Z",
"timeInterval": "1s",
"groupField": "malicious_field",
"terms": {
"field": "malicious_field",
"size": 100000
}
}
In the JSON payload, we can observe the malicious_field being used as the groupField and field attributes in the terms object. This field is utilized to create an unreasonable number of groups and terms, thereby causing an overload on Kibana's resource allocation mechanisms. Without any limits or throttling in place, Kibana is unable to prevent this allocation from occurring, ultimately resulting in the software crashing.
The discovery and disclosure of CVE-2024-52972 can be traced to a few key sources
1. The Elastic official page provides extensive documentation on Kibana, including how to properly set up and configure resource allocation and throttling.
2. The CVE Mitre entry acts as a centralized and definitive source for CVE-2024-52972, containing a complete breakdown of the vulnerability and its associated risks.
3. The GitHub Security Advisory provides additional insights into the issue, as well as recommendations on how to rectify the problem by implementing proper resource allocation mechanisms in Kibana.
Recommendations for Mitigation
While CVE-2024-52972 poses a significant threat, there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability:
1. Upgrade to the latest version of Kibana to ensure that you are benefiting from the most recent patches and updates.
2. Enable resource allocation limitations and throttling in Kibana's configuration settings to prevent unauthorized resource consumption.
3. Restrict access to the Observability Metrics and Logs features in Kibana by carefully managing user roles and permissions. This will reduce the likelihood of malicious users exploiting this vulnerability.
In conclusion, be vigilant and proactive in staying up to date with software updates and security best practices to protect your Kibana installations from falling prey to CVE-2024-52972 and other vulnerabilities.
Timeline
Published on: 01/23/2025 07:15:08 UTC