CVE-2024-22278

Workarounds

There are no workarounds available.

Credit

Thanks to Ravid Mazon([email protected]), Jay Chen ([email protected]) Palo Alto Networks for reporting this issue.

Harbor fails to validate the maintainer role permissions when creating/updating/deleting project configurations - API call:

• PUT /projects/{project_name_or_id}/metadatas/{meta_name}
• POST /projects/{project_name_or_id}/metadatas/{meta_name}
• DELETE /projects/{project_name_or_id}/metadatas/{meta_name}

By sending a request to create/update/delete a metadata with an name that belongs to a project that the currently authenticated and granted to the maintainer role user doesn’t have access to, the attacker could modify configurations in the current project.

BTW: the maintainer role in Harbor was intended for individuals who closely support the project admin in maintaining the project but lack configuration management permissions. However, the maintainer role can utilize the metadata API to circumvent this limitation. It's important to note that any potential attacker must be authenticated and granted a specific project maintainer role to modify configurations, limiting their scope to only that project.

The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access. Typical impact: privilege escalation beyond the intended level.

CVE-2024-22278 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, high privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.9.5, 2.10.3); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Will be fixed in v2.9.5, v2.10.3 and v2.11.0

1. What is CVE-2024-22278? CVE-2024-22278 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in github.com/goharbor/harbor (go), affecting versions < 2.9.5. It is fixed in 2.9.5, 2.10.3. The application assigns, modifies, tracks, or checks privileges incorrectly, allowing a user to gain elevated access.
2. How severe is CVE-2024-22278? CVE-2024-22278 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of github.com/goharbor/harbor are affected by CVE-2024-22278? github.com/goharbor/harbor (go) versions < 2.9.5 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-22278? Yes. CVE-2024-22278 is fixed in 2.9.5, 2.10.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2024-22278 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-22278 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2024-22278 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2024-22278?
   • Upgrade github.com/goharbor/harbor to 2.9.5 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/goharbor/harbor to 2.10.3 or later