Summary
ConsoleMe has an Arbitrary File Read Vulnerability via Limited Git command
ID: NFLX-2024-002
Description
The self-service flow for templated resources in ConsoleMe accepts a user-supplied JSON post body, which includes the filename for the templated resource. However, this user-supplied filename is not properly sanitized and is passed directly as a string to a CLI command. This allows users to input flags instead of filenames. By passing a specific flag with a filename value, users can induce an error that reveals the contents of the specified file, allowing them to read any files readable by the system user executing the ConsoleMe server process.
Credit
Impact
Authenticated users can achieve limited RCE in ConsoleMe, restricted to flag inputs on a single CLI command. Due to this constraint, it is not currently known whether full RCE is possible but it is unlikely.
However, a specific flag allows authenticated users to read any server files accessible by the ConsoleMe process. Given ConsoleMe's role as an AWS identity broker, accessing files containing secrets on the server could potentially be exploited for privilege escalation.
Deployments of ConsoleMe that allow templated resources are impacted and urged to patch immediately. Deployments that do not permit templated resources are not affected.
To determine if your ConsoleMe deployment uses templated resources, check the configuration value for cache_resource_templates.repositories. If this value does not exist or is an empty array, your deployment is not impacted.
Untrusted input is inserted into a command that is later executed by the application, allowing the attacker to alter the intent of that command. Typical impact: arbitrary command execution in the application's environment.
CVE-2024-5023 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (1.4.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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This issue has been patched in version v1.4.0 via https://github.com/Netflix/consoleme/pull/9380.
If you are unable to upgrade to the latest version, users can selectively apply the code changes in the above PR. Alternatively, removing the configuration item cache_resource_templates.repositories or adding it as an empty array should mitigate the issue, but will result in broken functionality (templated resources will no longer be supported for self-service).
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-5023? CVE-2024-5023 is a critical-severity command injection vulnerability in consoleme (pip), affecting versions < 1.4.0. It is fixed in 1.4.0. Untrusted input is inserted into a command that is later executed by the application, allowing the attacker to alter the intent of that command.
- How severe is CVE-2024-5023? CVE-2024-5023 has a CVSS score of 9.6 (Critical). 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.
- Which versions of consoleme are affected by CVE-2024-5023? consoleme (pip) versions < 1.4.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-5023? Yes. CVE-2024-5023 is fixed in 1.4.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-5023 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-5023 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2024-5023 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-5023? Upgrade
consolemeto 1.4.0 or later.