CVE-2023-43631
Published: 21 September 2023
Summary
CVE-2023-43631 is a high-severity Insufficiently Protected Credentials (CWE-522) vulnerability in Linuxfoundation Edge Virtualization Engine. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked at the 9.2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-48031
Vulnerability details
On boot, the Pillar eve container checks for the existence and content of “/config/authorized_keys”. If the file is present, and contains a supported public key, the container will go on to open port 22 and enable sshd with the given…
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keys as the authorized keys for root login. An attacker could easily add their own keys and gain full control over the system without triggering the “measured boot” mechanism implemented by EVE OS, and without marking the device as “UUD” (“Unknown Update Detected”). This is because the “/config” partition is not protected by “measured boot”, it is mutable, and it is not encrypted in any way. An attacker can gain full control over the device without changing the PCR values, thus not triggering the “measured boot” mechanism, and having full access to the vault. Note: This issue was partially fixed in these commits (after disclosure to Zededa), where the config partition measurement was added to PCR13: • aa3501d6c57206ced222c33aea15a9169d629141 • 5fef4d92e75838cc78010edaed5247dfbdae1889. This issue was made viable in version 9.0.0 when the calculation was moved to PCR14 but it was not included in the measured boot.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Requiring confidentiality/integrity protection for stored credentials directly mitigates insufficiently protected credentials on disk or in configuration stores.
Training instructs users on protecting credentials from disclosure or unauthorized access.
Training records for security awareness and role-based training verify education on credential protection practices, tangibly reducing risks from mishandling or exposing credentials.
Tracking information locations and access supports secure storage practices instead of insecure ones.
Establishing an alternate site with equivalent protections directly mitigates insecure storage of sensitive backup information.
Requiring protection of backup information directly addresses insecure storage of sensitive data in backups.
Protecting authenticator content from unauthorized disclosure and modification while requiring protective controls addresses insufficiently protected credentials.
Rules of behavior include credential protection and non-sharing requirements, reducing exposure of insufficiently protected credentials.