CVE-2024-11029
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in FreeIPA's API audit mechanism causes administrative credentials to be logged in plaintext during installation. Anyone with access to the journal logs (including centralized logging systems) can obtain FreeIPA administrator passwords. This affects FreeIPA installations where the journal database is accessible to unauthorized users.
💻 Affected Systems
- FreeIPA
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Administrator credentials are exposed in centralized logs, allowing attackers with log access to gain full administrative control over FreeIPA infrastructure.
Likely Case
Internal users with journal access can obtain administrator credentials, potentially leading to privilege escalation within the FreeIPA environment.
If Mitigated
With proper log access controls and monitoring, credential exposure is limited to authorized administrators only.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to journal logs, which typically requires some level of system access or log aggregation system access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Red Hat advisories for specific patched versions
Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:0334
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update FreeIPA packages using your distribution's package manager. 2. For RHEL: 'yum update freeipa*'. 3. Restart FreeIPA services: 'systemctl restart ipa'. 4. Verify the fix by checking journal logs no longer contain credentials.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Journal Log Access
linuxLimit access to journal logs to prevent unauthorized users from reading sensitive information.
chmod 640 /var/log/journal/*
setfacl -m u:ipaadmin:r /var/log/journal/*
Disable Journal Logging During Installation
linuxTemporarily disable journal logging during FreeIPA installation to prevent credential leakage.
systemctl stop systemd-journald
# Install FreeIPA
systemctl start systemd-journald
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls on journal logs and centralized logging systems
- Regularly audit journal log access and monitor for unauthorized credential access attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check journal logs for FreeIPA installation entries containing '--password' or '--admin-password' parameters: 'journalctl -u ipa | grep -i password'Check Version:
ipa --versionVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify journal logs no longer contain plaintext passwords in FreeIPA installation entries.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Journal log entries containing '--password' or '--admin-password' with plaintext values
- Unauthorized access attempts to journal logs
Network Indicators:
- Unusual authentication patterns from systems with journal log access
SIEM Query:
source="journald" AND "FreeIPA" AND ("--password" OR "--admin-password")