CVE-2024-22278
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Harbor container registry allows authenticated users to modify system configurations due to incorrect permission validation. It affects Harbor installations running versions below 2.9.5 or 2.10.3. Any organization using vulnerable Harbor versions with authenticated users is at risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- Harbor
📦 What is this software?
Harbor by Linuxfoundation
Harbor by Linuxfoundation
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An authenticated attacker could modify Harbor configurations to disable security controls, change authentication settings, or redirect traffic to malicious repositories, potentially compromising the entire container supply chain.
Likely Case
Authenticated users with limited permissions could escalate privileges by modifying configurations to gain administrative access or bypass security restrictions.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and strict access controls, impact would be limited to the Harbor instance itself without affecting downstream systems.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access but the permission bypass mechanism appears straightforward based on the advisory description.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: v2.9.5 or v2.10.3
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/security/advisories/GHSA-hw28-333w-qxp3
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup Harbor configuration and database. 2. Stop Harbor services. 3. Upgrade to Harbor v2.9.5 (for v2.9.x branch) or v2.10.3 (for v2.10.x branch). 4. Restart Harbor services. 5. Verify functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict User Permissions
allTemporarily restrict all non-admin users to read-only permissions to prevent configuration modifications
harbor-cli user update --username USERNAME --permission read-only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate Harbor from production environments
- Enable comprehensive audit logging and monitor for configuration changes by non-admin users
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Harbor version via web interface or API. Versions below 2.9.5 or 2.10.3 are vulnerable.Check Version:
curl -k https://harbor-host/api/v2.0/systeminfo | grep "harbor_version"Verify Fix Applied:
Verify Harbor version is 2.9.5 or higher (for 2.9.x branch) or 2.10.3 or higher (for 2.10.x branch). Test that non-admin users cannot modify configurations.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Configuration modification events by non-admin users
- Permission validation failures in audit logs
- Unexpected API calls to configuration endpoints
Network Indicators:
- Unusual API traffic patterns to configuration endpoints
- Authentication bypass attempts
SIEM Query:
source="harbor" AND (event_type="config_modify" OR api_endpoint="/api/v2.0/configurations") AND user_role!="admin"