CVE-2025-47713: Apache CloudStack Privilege Escalation

CVE-2025-47713 Overview

A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Apache CloudStack versions 4.10.0.0 through 4.20.0.0 where a malicious Domain Admin user in the ROOT domain can reset the password of user-accounts with Admin role type. This operation is not appropriately restricted, allowing an attacker to assume control over higher-privileged user-accounts. A malicious Domain Admin attacker can impersonate an Admin user-account and gain access to sensitive APIs and resources that could result in the compromise of resource integrity and confidentiality, data loss, denial of service, and availability of infrastructure managed by CloudStack.

Critical Impact

Malicious Domain Admin users in the ROOT domain can escalate privileges by resetting passwords of Admin-level accounts, potentially compromising entire CloudStack infrastructure including all managed resources and data.

Affected Products

• Apache CloudStack versions 4.10.0.0 through 4.20.0.0
• Apache CloudStack deployments with ROOT domain Domain Admin users
• CloudStack environments without strict role hierarchy validation

Discovery Timeline

• June 10, 2025 - CVE-2025-47713 published to NVD
• July 1, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-47713

Vulnerability Analysis

This privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) stems from inadequate access control enforcement in Apache CloudStack's user account management functionality. The vulnerability allows Domain Admin users operating within the ROOT domain to perform password reset operations against user-accounts that possess higher privilege levels, specifically those with the Admin role type.

The attack enables horizontal and vertical privilege escalation by allowing a lower-privileged administrative role to manipulate credentials of accounts with elevated permissions. Once an attacker successfully resets an Admin account's password, they can authenticate as that higher-privileged user and access sensitive management APIs, control infrastructure resources, and potentially compromise the entire CloudStack deployment.

The vulnerability is particularly severe because CloudStack is typically used to manage large-scale cloud infrastructure, meaning a successful exploit could grant an attacker control over virtual machines, storage systems, network configurations, and other critical cloud resources.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the absence of proper role type hierarchy validation when processing user account operations. The affected versions fail to verify that the caller's user-account role is equal to or higher than the target user-account's role before permitting password reset operations. Additionally, the system does not perform an API privilege comparison to ensure the caller possesses all privileges of the user they are attempting to operate on.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires the attacker to have low-privileged access (Domain Admin role in the ROOT domain). The exploitation scenario involves:

1. An attacker with Domain Admin privileges in the ROOT domain identifies Admin-level user accounts
2. The attacker initiates a password reset operation targeting an Admin user-account
3. Due to missing role hierarchy validation, the system processes the request without proper authorization checks
4. The attacker sets a new password for the Admin account
5. The attacker authenticates using the compromised Admin credentials
6. With Admin access, the attacker can access sensitive APIs, modify infrastructure, exfiltrate data, or cause denial of service

The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited remotely through the CloudStack management interface or API endpoints. The impact affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the managed infrastructure.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47713

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected password reset events for Admin-level user accounts in CloudStack audit logs
• Authentication attempts from unusual IP addresses or locations for privileged accounts
• Domain Admin users from ROOT domain performing operations on Admin accounts
• Sudden changes in API access patterns or resource modifications by previously low-activity Admin accounts
• Anomalous management plane activity following user account modifications

Detection Strategies

• Monitor CloudStack management server logs for password reset API calls targeting Admin role accounts
• Implement alerting on any password changes for privileged user accounts outside of normal change windows
• Audit trail analysis for Domain Admin users performing operations on accounts with higher role types
• Review user account management events for cross-role boundary violations
• Deploy SIEM rules to correlate password resets followed by immediate privileged API access

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive audit logging for all user account management operations in CloudStack
• Configure real-time alerts for password reset operations involving Admin-level accounts
• Implement session monitoring for privileged accounts to detect unauthorized access after credential changes
• Establish baseline behavior profiles for administrative accounts to identify anomalous post-compromise activity
• Monitor for bulk operations or rapid sequential privilege escalation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47713

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Apache CloudStack to version 4.19.3.0 or 4.20.1.0 immediately
• Audit all Domain Admin accounts in the ROOT domain for potential compromise
• Review CloudStack logs for historical evidence of exploitation
• Force password resets for all Admin-level accounts as a precautionary measure
• Restrict network access to CloudStack management interfaces to trusted networks

Patch Information

Apache CloudStack has released security patches in versions 4.19.3.0 and 4.20.1.0 that address this vulnerability. The fix implements the following security controls:

• Strict validation on Role Type hierarchy: The caller's user-account role must be equal to or higher than the target user-account's role
• API privilege comparison: The caller must possess all privileges of the user they are operating on
• New domain-level settings (restricted to default Admin):
  
  • role.types.allowed.for.operations.on.accounts.of.same.role.type: Defines which role types are allowed to act on users of the same role type (Default: "Admin, DomainAdmin, ResourceAdmin")
  • allow.operations.on.users.in.same.account: Allows/disallows user operations within the same account (Default: true)

For detailed patch information, refer to the Apache CloudStack CVE Advisory and the ShapeBlue Security Advisory.

Workarounds

• Minimize the number of Domain Admin accounts in the ROOT domain to reduce attack surface
• Implement network segmentation to restrict access to CloudStack management APIs from untrusted networks
• Enable multi-factor authentication for all administrative accounts where supported
• Implement external access controls and API gateways to add additional authorization layers
• Consider disabling or closely monitoring Domain Admin accounts in ROOT domain until patching is complete

# Post-upgrade verification: Check CloudStack version
cloudstack-setup-management --version

# Review new security settings after upgrade
cloudstack-setup-management -Dcloud.role.types.allowed.for.operations.on.accounts.of.same.role.type="Admin"
cloudstack-setup-management -Dcloud.allow.operations.on.users.in.same.account="false"

# Verify global settings are applied
mysql -u cloud -p cloudstack -e "SELECT name, value FROM configuration WHERE name LIKE '%role%' OR name LIKE '%operations%users%';"