CVE Vulnerabilities

CVE-2022-41923

Incorrect Authorization

Published: Nov 23, 2022 | Modified: Jul 10, 2023
CVSS 3.x
9.8
CRITICAL
Source:
NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.x
RedHat/V2
RedHat/V3
Ubuntu

Grails Spring Security Core plugin is vulnerable to privilege escalation. The vulnerability allows an attacker access to one endpoint (i.e. the targeted endpoint) using the authorization requirements of a different endpoint (i.e. the donor endpoint). In some Grails framework applications, access to the targeted endpoint will be granted based on meeting the authorization requirements of the donor endpoint, which can result in a privilege escalation attack. This vulnerability has been patched in grails-spring-security-core versions 3.3.2, 4.0.5 and 5.1.1. Impacted Applications: Grails Spring Security Core plugin versions: 1.x 2.x >=3.0.0 <3.3.2 >=4.0.0 <4.0.5 >=5.0.0 <5.1.1 We strongly suggest that all Grails framework applications using the Grails Spring Security Core plugin be updated to a patched release of the plugin. Workarounds: Users should create a subclass extending one of the following classes from the grails.plugin.springsecurity.web.access.intercept package, depending on their security configuration: * AnnotationFilterInvocationDefinition * InterceptUrlMapFilterInvocationDefinition * RequestmapFilterInvocationDefinition In each case, the subclass should override the calculateUri method like so: @Override protected String calculateUri(HttpServletRequest request) { UrlPathHelper.defaultInstance.getRequestUri(request) } This should be considered a temporary measure, as the patched versions of grails-spring-security-core deprecates the calculateUri method. Once upgraded to a patched version of the plugin, this workaround is no longer needed. The workaround is especially important for version 2.x, as no patch is available version 2.x of the GSSC plugin.

Weakness

The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check. This allows attackers to bypass intended access restrictions.

Affected Software

Name Vendor Start Version End Version
Spring_security_core Grails 1.0 (including) 3.3.2 (excluding)
Spring_security_core Grails 4.0.0 (including) 4.0.5 (excluding)
Spring_security_core Grails 5.0.0 (including) 5.1.1 (excluding)

Extended Description

Assuming a user with a given identity, authorization is the process of determining whether that user can access a given resource, based on the user’s privileges and any permissions or other access-control specifications that apply to the resource. When access control checks are incorrectly applied, users are able to access data or perform actions that they should not be allowed to perform. This can lead to a wide range of problems, including information exposures, denial of service, and arbitrary code execution.

Potential Mitigations

  • Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) [REF-229] to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
  • Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • For example, consider using authorization frameworks such as the JAAS Authorization Framework [REF-233] and the OWASP ESAPI Access Control feature [REF-45].
  • For web applications, make sure that the access control mechanism is enforced correctly at the server side on every page. Users should not be able to access any unauthorized functionality or information by simply requesting direct access to that page.
  • One way to do this is to ensure that all pages containing sensitive information are not cached, and that all such pages restrict access to requests that are accompanied by an active and authenticated session token associated with a user who has the required permissions to access that page.

References