CVE-2019-10170: Keycloak core Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-7m27-3587-83xf
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CVSS 7.2
CWE-267
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-10170 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.2) privilege defined with unsafe actions vulnerability (CWE-267: Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions) affecting Keycloak core libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves privilege defined with unsafe actions in keycloak. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 8.0.0.

CVE-2019-10170 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-10170
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7m27-3587-83xf
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.2
CWE Classification CWE-267: Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions
Affected Product Keycloak core
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.2

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2019-10170

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

org.keycloak:keycloak-core fixed: 8.0.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.keycloak</groupId>
    <artifactId>keycloak-core</artifactId>
    <version>8.0.0</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2019-10170, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Keycloak core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 8.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-267: Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions, where a particular privilege, role, capability, or right can be used to perform unsafe actions that were not intended, even when it is assigned to the correct entity. In Keycloak core, 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

A flaw was found in the Keycloak admin console, where the realm management interface permits a script to be set via the policy. This flaw allows an attacker with authenticated user and realm management permissions to configure a malicious script to trigger and execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the application user.

CVE-2019-10170 Affected Keycloak core Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
8.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.keycloak:keycloak-core
maven/org.keycloak/keycloak-core
Maven
< 8.0.0
8.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2019-10170 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-10170
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-10170
Keycloak core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-10170?
CVE-2019-10170 is a security vulnerability in Keycloak core involving Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions in Keycloak under CWE-267: Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions.
Which Keycloak core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 8.0.0 across affected packages: org.keycloak:keycloak-core.
What version fixes CVE-2019-10170?
Upgrading to 8.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is keycloak-core affected?
Yes, org.keycloak:keycloak-core is affected in releases prior to 8.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 8.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-10170?
CVE-2019-10170 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.2 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-10170?
CVE-2019-10170 is classified under CWE-267: Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions (A particular privilege, role, capability, or right can be used to perform unsafe actions that were not intended, even when it is assigned to the correct entity.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2019-10170?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak'. 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-7m27-3587-83xf",
  "modified" : "2021-10-20T15:06:01Z",
  "published" : "2021-10-21T17:46:27Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-10170" ],
  "summary" : "Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions in Keycloak",
  "details" : "A flaw was found in the Keycloak admin console, where the realm management interface permits a script to be set via the policy. This flaw allows an attacker with authenticated user and realm management permissions to configure a malicious script to trigger and execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the application user.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.keycloak:keycloak-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "8.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-10170"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-10170"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-267" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-10-20T15:06:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-05-08T14:15:00Z"
  }
}