CVE-2024-8071
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows users with edit access to the permissions section of the Mattermost system console to escalate their privileges to System Admin by adding the 'manage_system' permission to their role. It affects Mattermost instances running vulnerable versions where users have been granted specific system console permissions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Mattermost
📦 What is this software?
Mattermost by Mattermost
Mattermost by Mattermost
Mattermost by Mattermost
Mattermost by Mattermost
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker with appropriate permissions gains full system administrator access, allowing them to read all data, modify configurations, add/remove users, and potentially access underlying infrastructure.
Likely Case
A user with legitimate permissions in the system console accidentally or intentionally elevates their privileges to gain administrative control over the Mattermost instance.
If Mitigated
With proper role-based access controls and monitoring, unauthorized privilege escalation attempts are detected and prevented before causing significant damage.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access with specific permissions. The vulnerability is straightforward to exploit once the attacker has the required access level.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 9.9.2, 9.5.8, 9.10.1, 9.8.3
Vendor Advisory: https://mattermost.com/security-updates
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your Mattermost instance. 2. Download the patched version from Mattermost downloads. 3. Stop the Mattermost service. 4. Replace the installation with the patched version. 5. Restart the Mattermost service. 6. Verify the version is updated.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove permissions access
allTemporarily remove edit access to the permissions section of the system console from all non-admin users
Audit user permissions
allReview and verify all users with system console access, ensuring no unauthorized users have edit permissions
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict role-based access control and limit system console permissions to only essential administrators
- Enable detailed audit logging for permission changes and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check your Mattermost version against the affected versions list. Review which users have edit access to the permissions section in System Console > User Management > Permissions.Check Version:
Check Mattermost web interface System Console > About Mattermost, or run: mattermost version (CLI)Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify the version shows as patched (9.9.2, 9.5.8, 9.10.1, or 9.8.3). Test that users with permissions section access cannot add 'manage_system' permission to their roles.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- User role modifications in audit logs
- Permission changes in system console logs
- Unexpected 'manage_system' permission assignments
Network Indicators:
- API calls to modify user roles or permissions from non-admin accounts
SIEM Query:
source="mattermost" AND (event="role_modified" OR event="permission_changed") AND user_role!="system_admin"