CVE-2025-2241

Remediation/Mitigation Strategy for CVE-2025-2241: Hive VCenter Credential Exposure

This document outlines the vulnerability, severity, potential impact, and recommended steps for remediation and mitigation of CVE-2025-2241 affecting Hive, a component of Multicluster Engine (MCE) and Advanced Cluster Management (ACM).

1. Vulnerability Description:

CVE-2025-2241 is a vulnerability in Hive where VCenter credentials are unintentionally exposed within the ClusterProvision object after a VSphere cluster is provisioned. This allows users with read access to ClusterProvision objects to potentially extract these sensitive credentials, even without direct access to Kubernetes Secrets.

2. Severity:

  • CVSS Score: 8.2 (High)
  • Impact: High
  • Explanation: A high CVSS score reflects the significant risk posed by this vulnerability. Compromise of VCenter credentials grants attackers significant control over the affected VSphere environment, potentially leading to data breaches, service disruptions, and further lateral movement within the infrastructure.

3. Known Exploits and Potential Impact:

  • Known Exploits: As indicated, there is no known exploit, although the vulnerability is readily exploitable due to the nature of credential exposure. It’s critical to apply mitigations swiftly.
  • Potential Impact:
    • Unauthorized VCenter Access: Attackers gaining access to VCenter credentials can manage and control the affected VSphere environment.
    • Cluster Management Manipulation: Compromised credentials could be used to manipulate VSphere cluster configurations, leading to instability or complete cluster compromise.
    • Privilege Escalation: Within the VSphere environment, an attacker might escalate privileges to gain administrative control over the entire infrastructure.
    • Data Breach: Access to VCenter can expose sensitive data stored within the VSphere environment, potentially leading to data breaches.
    • Service Disruption: An attacker could disrupt services running on the VSphere clusters by manipulating virtual machines or storage.

4. Remediation and Mitigation Strategy:

The following steps are recommended to address CVE-2025-2241:

  • A. Patching and Upgrading:

    • Primary Remediation: Apply the official patch or upgrade to the fixed version of Multicluster Engine (MCE) and/or Advanced Cluster Management (ACM) as provided by Red Hat. This is the most important step and should be prioritized. Consult the official Red Hat security advisory for specific version details and instructions. Monitor Red Hat announcements for potential roll-out delays.
    • Verification: After applying the patch/upgrade, thoroughly test the cluster provisioning process to ensure the VCenter credentials are no longer exposed in the ClusterProvision object. Examine all ClusterProvision objects created after the patch.

  • B. Immediate Mitigating Actions (Until Patching is Possible):

    • 1. Restrict Access to ClusterProvision Objects:

      • Action: Immediately review and restrict read access to ClusterProvision objects to the absolute minimum number of users and service accounts required. Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) policies in Kubernetes to enforce this restriction.
      • Rationale: Limiting access reduces the attack surface by decreasing the number of individuals who could potentially exploit the vulnerability.
      • Implementation: Use Kubernetes RBAC to create Roles and RoleBindings that specifically grant read access to ClusterProvision objects only to authorized users and service accounts. Ensure no overly permissive ClusterRoles (e.g., cluster-admin) are unnecessarily granted to individuals or service accounts.

    • 2. Credential Rotation (Considerations):

      • Action: Consider rotating the VCenter credentials used for cluster provisioning. However, understand this might trigger redeployment requirements.
      • Rationale: If credentials have been compromised, rotating them will invalidate the attacker’s access.
      • Implementation: Change the password for the VCenter account used for cluster provisioning. Important: This may necessitate updating the credentials stored in any related secrets or configurations within MCE/ACM. Test thoroughly in a non-production environment first.

    • 3. Audit Logging and Monitoring:

      • Action: Enhance audit logging for access to ClusterProvision objects and related API calls. Implement monitoring to detect suspicious activity, such as unauthorized attempts to retrieve secrets or unusual access patterns.
      • Rationale: Increased visibility can help detect and respond to potential exploitation attempts.
      • Implementation: Enable Kubernetes audit logging and configure alerts for events related to ClusterProvision object access. Use tools like Prometheus and Grafana to visualize and analyze audit logs.

    • 4. Network Segmentation:

      • Action: If feasible, isolate the VSphere environment used for MCE/ACM-managed clusters from other critical infrastructure.
      • Rationale: Segmentation limits the blast radius of a successful compromise, preventing attackers from easily pivoting to other sensitive systems.
      • Implementation: Implement network policies to restrict communication between the VSphere environment and other network segments. Use firewalls or security groups to control traffic based on the principle of least privilege.

  • C. Long-Term Security Practices:

    • Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits of your MCE/ACM configuration and VSphere environment to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
    • Principle of Least Privilege: Adhere to the principle of least privilege when assigning permissions to users and service accounts.
    • Credential Management: Implement a robust credential management strategy to protect sensitive credentials. Consider using a dedicated secret management solution.

5. Communication and Coordination:

  • Internal Communication: Inform relevant teams (security, operations, development) about the vulnerability and the remediation plan.
  • External Communication: If you are using a managed service provider, inform them about the vulnerability and coordinate remediation efforts.
  • Red Hat: Monitor Red Hat’s security announcements and documentation for updates and recommendations.

6. Verification and Validation:

After implementing the remediation steps, thoroughly verify and validate the effectiveness of the changes. This should include:

  • Testing the cluster provisioning process to ensure credentials are no longer exposed.
  • Reviewing RBAC policies to confirm access restrictions are in place.
  • Analyzing audit logs to ensure suspicious activity is being detected.

This remediation strategy is a guideline and may need to be adapted based on your specific environment and requirements. Consult with your security team and Red Hat’s documentation for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

Assigner

Date

  • Published Date: 2025-03-17 17:15:40
  • Updated Date: 2025-03-17 17:15:40

More Details

CVE-2025-2241