Major Docker Security Vulnerability Exposes Critical Authorization Bypass

A recently discovered flaw in the Docker Engine has raised significant security concerns, allowing attackers to bypass authorization plugins. Tracked as CVE-2024-41110, this critical vulnerability has a CVSS severity score of 10.0, highlighting its potential impact.

The Flaw and Its Impact

The vulnerability allows attackers to send specially crafted API requests with a Content-Length of 0, tricking the Docker daemon into forwarding these requests to the authorization (AuthZ) plugin without the necessary body content. This bypasses the normal validation process, potentially enabling unauthorized actions and privilege escalation.

The issue was initially identified and fixed in Docker Engine v18.09.1 in January 2019 but was not carried over to subsequent versions. As a result, it resurfaced and affected versions up to v27.1.0​ (The Hacker News)​​ (BleepingComputer)​.

Affected Versions

The flaw affects several versions of Docker Engine, specifically:

  • Versions up to v19.03.15
  • Versions up to v20.10.27
  • Versions up to v23.0.14
  • Versions up to v24.0.9
  • Versions up to v25.0.5
  • Versions up to v26.0.2
  • Versions up to v26.1.4
  • Versions up to v27.0.3, and
  • Versions up to v27.1.0

Docker Desktop is also impacted up to version 4.32.0, but the exploitation likelihood is limited as it requires access to the Docker API, which usually means the attacker already has local access to the host​ (The Hacker News)​​ (BleepingComputer)​.

Mitigation and Recommendations

Docker has released patches for the affected versions, with fixes available in versions 23.0.14 and 27.1.0 as of July 23, 2024. Users are strongly urged to update to these versions to mitigate potential threats.

For users who cannot update immediately, it is recommended to:

  • Disable AuthZ plugins temporarily.
  • Restrict access to the Docker API to trusted users only.
  • Regularly monitor and audit Docker environments for unusual activities.

Conclusion

The discovery of CVE-2024-41110 underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date software and continuously monitoring for security vulnerabilities. As containers become integral to cloud infrastructure, securing them against such vulnerabilities is paramount to ensuring the integrity and security of modern applications.

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