CVE-2021-4200: Github.com/rancher/rancher Write Access To The Catalog Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-hx8w-ghh8-r4xf
CVSS 8.1
CWE-269 CWE-285
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-4200 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.1) write access to the catalog vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Github.com/rancher/rancher libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves write access to the catalog for any user when restricted-admin role is enabled in rancher. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.6.4, 2.5.13.

CVE-2021-4200 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-4200
GHSA Identifier GHSA-hx8w-ghh8-r4xf
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.1
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Github.com/rancher/rancher
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.1

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2021-4200

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

github.com/rancher/rancher fixed: 2.6.4
Upgrade github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.6.4
github.com/rancher/rancher fixed: 2.5.13
Upgrade github.com/rancher/rancher to 2.5.13
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for github.com/rancher/rancher

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-4200, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/rancher/rancher:

inspect dependencies for github.com/rancher/rancher

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/rancher/rancher in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.6.4), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Github.com/rancher/rancher, 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

### Impact This vulnerability only affects customers using the [`restricted-admin`](https://rancher.com/docs/rancher/v2.6/en/admin-settings/rbac/global-permissions/#restricted-admin) role in Rancher. For this role to be active, Rancher must be bootstrapped with the environment variable `CATTLE_RESTRICTED_DEFAULT_ADMIN=true` or the configuration flag `restrictedAdmin=true`. A flaw was discovered in Rancher versions from 2.5.0 up to and including 2.5.12 and from 2.6.0 up to and including 2.6.3 where the `global-data` role in `cattle-global-data` namespace grants write access to the Catalogs. Since each user with any level of catalog access was bound to the `global-data` role, this grants write access to templates (`CatalogTemplates`) and template versions (`CatalogTemplateVersions`) for any user with any level of catalog access. New users created in Rancher are by default assigned to the `user` role (standard user), which is not designed to grant write catalog access. This vulnerability effectively elevates the privilege of any user to write access for the catalog template and catalog template version resources. A malicious user could abuse this vulnerability to: 1. Make applications or individual versions of applications visible or hidden on the UI, by modifying `version` and `rancherMaxVersion` fields. 2. Change the logo (field `icon`) of an application or template to an arbitrary image. 3. Make a chart appear as a trusted or partner chart. This can be abused to make less trusted charts, such as customer defined charts, appear more legitimate than they are, by adding the label `io.rancher.certified: partner`. 4. Swap template versions between templates of charts inside the same catalog. This can be exploited to swap the files from one chart or version to another, by changing `versionDir` field. When a user on the target cluster deploys their chart, it will deploy the modified version. This vulnerability does not allow to modify the base64 encoded `files` fields of the `templateVersions`, so one cannot inject arbitrary data to charts that have already been pulled from their respective catalog. Without access to the Catalog, malicious users are limited to injecting apps which already exist in a registered catalog. They would need write access to the catalog or external write access to a source repo to inject arbitrary code. ### Patches Patched versions include releases 2.5.13, 2.6.4 and later versions. ### Workarounds Limit access in Rancher to trusted users. There is not a direct mitigation besides upgrading to the patched Rancher versions. **Note:** If you use the `restricted-admin` as the default admin role in your environment, it's highly advised to review `CatalogTemplates` and `CatalogTemplateVersions` for possible malicious modifications. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Reach out to [SUSE Rancher Security team](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/security/policy) for security related inquiries. * Open an issue in [Rancher](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/issues/new/choose) repository. * Verify our [support matrix](https://www.suse.com/suse-rancher/support-matrix/all-supported-versions/) and [product support lifecycle](https://www.suse.com/lifecycle/).

CVE-2021-4200 Affected Github.com/rancher/rancher Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.6.42.5.13
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/rancher/rancher
Go
≥ 2.6.0
< 2.6.4
2.6.4
github.com/rancher/rancher
Go
≥ 2.5.0
< 2.5.13
2.5.13

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-4200?
CVE-2021-4200 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/rancher/rancher involving Write access to the catalog for any user when restricted-admin role is enabled in Rancher under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Github.com/rancher/rancher versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.6.4, 2.5.13 across affected packages: github.com/rancher/rancher.
What version fixes CVE-2021-4200?
Upgrading to 2.6.4, 2.5.13 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/rancher/rancher affected?
Yes, github.com/rancher/rancher is affected in releases prior to 2.6.4, 2.5.13. Upgrade your dependency to 2.6.4, 2.5.13 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-4200?
CVE-2021-4200 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-4200?
CVE-2021-4200 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2021-4200?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/rancher/rancher'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-hx8w-ghh8-r4xf",
  "modified" : "2023-01-19T00:58:51Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-02T19:26:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-4200" ],
  "summary" : "Write access to the catalog for any user when restricted-admin role is enabled in Rancher",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nThis vulnerability only affects customers using the [`restricted-admin`](https://rancher.com/docs/rancher/v2.6/en/admin-settings/rbac/global-permissions/#restricted-admin) role in Rancher. For this role to be active, Rancher must be bootstrapped with the environment variable `CATTLE_RESTRICTED_DEFAULT_ADMIN=true` or the configuration flag `restrictedAdmin=true`.\n\nA flaw was discovered in Rancher versions from 2.5.0 up to and including 2.5.12 and from 2.6.0 up to and including 2.6.3 where the `global-data` role in `cattle-global-data` namespace grants write access to the Catalogs. Since each user with any level of catalog access was bound to the `global-data` role, this grants write access to templates (`CatalogTemplates`) and template versions (`CatalogTemplateVersions`) for any user with any level of catalog access. New users created in Rancher are by default assigned to the `user` role (standard user), which is not designed to grant write catalog access. This vulnerability effectively elevates the privilege of any user to write access for the catalog template and catalog template version resources.\n\nA malicious user could abuse this vulnerability to:\n\n1. Make applications or individual versions of applications visible or hidden on the UI, by modifying `version` and `rancherMaxVersion` fields.\n2. Change the logo (field `icon`) of an application or template to an arbitrary image.\n3. Make a chart appear as a trusted or partner chart. This can be abused to make less trusted charts, such as customer defined charts, appear more legitimate than they are, by adding the label `io.rancher.certified: partner`.\n4. Swap template versions between templates of charts inside the same catalog. This can be exploited to swap the files from one chart or version to another, by changing `versionDir` field. When a user on the target cluster deploys their chart, it will deploy the modified version.\n\nThis vulnerability does not allow to modify the base64 encoded `files` fields of the `templateVersions`, so one cannot inject arbitrary data to charts that have already been pulled from their respective catalog.\n\nWithout access to the Catalog, malicious users are limited to injecting apps which already exist in a registered catalog. They would need write access to the catalog or external write access to a source repo to inject arbitrary code.\n\n### Patches\nPatched versions include releases 2.5.13, 2.6.4 and later versions.\n\n### Workarounds\nLimit access in Rancher to trusted users. There is not a direct mitigation besides upgrading to the patched Rancher versions.\n\n**Note:** If you use the `restricted-admin` as the default admin role in your environment, it's highly advised to review `CatalogTemplates` and `CatalogTemplateVersions` for possible malicious modifications.\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Reach out to [SUSE Rancher Security team](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/security/policy) for security related inquiries.\n* Open an issue in [Rancher](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/issues/new/choose) repository.\n* Verify our [support matrix](https://www.suse.com/suse-rancher/support-matrix/all-supported-versions/) and [product support lifecycle](https://www.suse.com/lifecycle/).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/rancher/rancher"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.6.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/rancher/rancher"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.5.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.5.13"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rancher/rancher/security/advisories/GHSA-hx8w-ghh8-r4xf"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-4200"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1193992"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rancher.com/docs/rancher/v2.6/en/admin-settings/rbac/global-permissions/#restricted-admin"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "github.com/rancher/rancher"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269", "CWE-285" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-05-02T19:26:55Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-05-02T12:16:00Z"
  }
}