Security Bulletin: Cloudant Local Apache CouchDB CVE-2018-17188: Remote Privilege Escalations

Summary

Prior to CouchDB version 2.3.0, CouchDB allowed for runtime-configuration of key components of the database. In some cases, this lead to vulnerabilities where CouchDB admin users could access the underlying operating system as the CouchDB user. Together with other vulnerabilities, it allowed full system entry for unauthenticated users.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID: CVE-2018-17188 DESCRIPTION: Apache CouchDB could allow a remote authenticated attacker to gain elevated privileges on the system, caused by runtime-configuration of key components of the database. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain full system entry into the underlying operating system.
CVSS Base Score: 8.1
CVSS Temporal Score: See <https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/154346&gt; for the current score
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

Affected Products and Versions

All versions of Apache CouchDB prior to 2.3.0

Remediation/Fixes

Fixed on Cloudant ICP

For Cloudant Local there are some immediation remediations customers can take to reduce their vulnerability

1. Customers will need to ensure they have strong admin passwords.
2. Where customers expose their clusters to the public internet, we recommend they block these paths. This can be done by using a haproxy configuration update.

> Anywhere in the listen section of the config add the following: http-request deny if { path_beg /_node }

Workarounds and Mitigations

Strong admin passwords

Block public internet paths