CVE-2023-3089 – This CVE describes a compliance issue in Red Ha... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-3089?

CVE-2023-3089 has a CVSS score of 7.0 (HIGH). This CVE describes a compliance issue in Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform where, when FIPS mode is enabled, not all cryptographic modules used are FIPS-validated. This affects organizations using OpenShift in FIPS mode who require FIPS compliance for regulatory or security standards. The vulnerability doesn't allow direct exploitation but creates compliance violations.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a compliance issue in Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform where, when FIPS mode is enabled, not all cryptographic modules used are FIPS-validated. This affects organizations using OpenShift in FIPS mode who require FIPS compliance for regulatory or security standards. The vulnerability doesn't allow direct exploitation but creates compliance violations.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform

Versions: OpenShift 4.12 and later versions when FIPS mode is enabled

Operating Systems: Linux

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only affects systems with FIPS mode explicitly enabled. Standard deployments without FIPS requirements are not vulnerable.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Regulatory non-compliance leading to failed audits, loss of certification, or inability to operate in regulated environments (government, financial, healthcare sectors).

🟠

Likely Case

Compliance violations during security audits, requiring remediation efforts and potential operational disruptions until fixed.

🟢

If Mitigated

No security impact if compliance requirements are not applicable, but still a technical violation of FIPS standards.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a compliance issue rather than a security vulnerability that can be exploited remotely.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Affects internal compliance posture and audit requirements for regulated environments.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH

This is a compliance violation rather than an exploitable vulnerability. No known exploitation methods exist.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: OpenShift 4.12.z and later updates

Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3089

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update OpenShift to the latest patched version using 'oc adm upgrade' or cluster update process. 2. Verify FIPS compliance after update. 3. Restart affected components as required by the update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable FIPS mode

linux

Temporarily disable FIPS mode if compliance requirements allow, though this may violate other security policies.

Note: Disabling FIPS requires cluster reconfiguration and is not recommended for compliance-mandated environments.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Document the compliance gap and implement compensating controls for audit purposes
Isolate affected systems from regulated workloads until patching can occur

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if FIPS mode is enabled and verify OpenShift version is 4.12 or later: 'oc version' and check cluster FIPS configuration.

Check Version:

oc version

Verify Fix Applied:

After patching, verify all cryptographic modules are FIPS-validated using OpenShift's compliance tools and check version is updated.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Compliance audit failures
FIPS validation warnings in system logs

Network Indicators:

None - this is not a network-exploitable vulnerability

SIEM Query:

Search for OpenShift compliance audit failures or FIPS-related warnings in cluster logs

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-3089

CVSS v3 Score: 7.0 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L

CWE: CWE-693

Published: July 5, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3089 Vendor Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2212085 Issue Tracking,Vendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3089 Vendor Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2212085 Issue Tracking,Vendor Advisory

📤 Share & Export

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📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable FIPS mode

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities