CVE-2013-4278: Nova Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-43cm-73px-5v4m
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Advisory Summary

CVE-2013-4278 is a LOW remote code execution vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Nova libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves openstack compute (nova) resource limit circumvention in nova private flavors. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 12.0.0a0.

CVE-2013-4278 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2013-4278
GHSA Identifier GHSA-43cm-73px-5v4m
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Nova
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2013-4278

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Nova dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

nova fixed: 12.0.0a0 
pip install nova>=12.0.0a0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show nova

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2013-4278, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show nova

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Nova in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 12.0.0a0), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show nova command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under General Security Weakness. In Nova, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The "create an instance" API in OpenStack Compute (Nova) Folsom, Grizzly, and Havana does not properly enforce the os-flavor-access:is_public property, which allows remote authenticated users to boot arbitrary flavors by guessing the flavor id. NOTE: this issue is due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2013-2256.

CVE-2013-4278 Affected Nova Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
12.0.0a0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
nova
pypi/nova
PyPI
< 12.0.0a0
12.0.0a0

References

NVD — CVE-2013-4278 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4278
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openstack/nova/commit/4054cc4a22a1fea997dec76afb5646fd6c6ea6b9
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openstack/nova/commit/6825959560e06725d26625fd21f5c0b78b305492
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openstack/nova/commit/8b686195afe7e6dfb46c56c1ef2fe9c993d8e495
bugs.launchpad.net/ossa/+bug/1212179 WEB
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ossa/+bug/1212179
Nova Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/openstack/nova
lists.openstack.org/pipermail/openstack... WEB
http://lists.openstack.org/pipermail/openstack-announce/2013-August/000138.html
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2013-11... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2013-1199.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2013-4278?
CVE-2013-4278 is a security vulnerability in Nova involving OpenStack Compute (Nova) Resource limit circumvention in Nova private flavors under General Security Weakness.
Which Nova versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 12.0.0a0 across affected packages: nova.
What version fixes CVE-2013-4278?
Upgrading to 12.0.0a0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nova affected?
Yes, nova is affected in releases prior to 12.0.0a0. Upgrade your dependency to 12.0.0a0 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2013-4278?
CVE-2013-4278 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2013-4278?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show nova'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-43cm-73px-5v4m",
  "modified" : "2024-05-14T21:27:13Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T05:04:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2013-4278" ],
  "summary" : "OpenStack Compute (Nova) Resource limit circumvention in Nova private flavors",
  "details" : "The \"create an instance\" API in OpenStack Compute (Nova) Folsom, Grizzly, and Havana does not properly enforce the os-flavor-access:is_public property, which allows remote authenticated users to boot arbitrary flavors by guessing the flavor id.  NOTE: this issue is due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2013-2256.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "nova"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "12.0.0a0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4278"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openstack/nova/commit/4054cc4a22a1fea997dec76afb5646fd6c6ea6b9"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openstack/nova/commit/6825959560e06725d26625fd21f5c0b78b305492"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openstack/nova/commit/8b686195afe7e6dfb46c56c1ef2fe9c993d8e495"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugs.launchpad.net/ossa/+bug/1212179"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openstack/nova"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.openstack.org/pipermail/openstack-announce/2013-August/000138.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2013-1199.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-05-14T21:27:13Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2013-09-16T19:14:00Z"
  }
}