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Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical

CVE-2013-6433

HIGH · 7.6 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-06-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2013.2.3 or later.
See remediation →
85/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The default configuration in the Red Hat openstack-neutron package before 2013.2.3-7 does not properly set a configuration file for rootwrap, which allows remote attackers to gain privileges via a crafted configuration file.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

The default configuration in Red Hat's openstack-neutron package (before version 2013.2.3-7) fails to properly set a rootwrap configuration file path. Rootwrap is used in OpenStack to execute privileged operations. This misconfiguration allows remote attackers to supply or manipulate a crafted rootwrap configuration file, enabling privilege escalation to root-level access.

MitigationUpdate openstack-neutron to version 2013.2.3-7 or later, and verify that the rootwrap configuration file path is explicitly and securely set in the neutron configuration to prevent configuration injection.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 13.10= 14.04
NeutronApplication
Affected:>= 2013.1, <= 2013.2.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Neutron version
    Run 'dpkg -l openstack-neutron' on Ubuntu or 'rpm -q openstack-neutron' on Red Hat-based systems to retrieve the installed version number
    Affected if Version is 2013.2.3 or earlier, or the package is from Ubuntu 13.10 or 14.04 with Neutron <= 2013.2.3
  2. Locate Neutron configuration file
    Find the neutron.conf file, typically located at /etc/neutron/neutron.conf or /etc/neutron.conf depending on the installation
    Affected if The configuration file exists and is readable
  3. Check rootwrap configuration path setting
    In the neutron.conf file, search for the 'rootwrap_config' parameter under the [DEFAULT] or [agent] section. Run: grep -i rootwrap_config /etc/neutron/neutron.conf
    Affected if The 'rootwrap_config' parameter is either missing, commented out, or set to an insecure/writable path that could be manipulated by an attacker
  4. Verify rootwrap configuration file ownership and permissions
    If a rootwrap config path is set, locate that file (commonly in /etc/neutron/rootwrap.d/) and check its ownership and permissions with 'ls -la <rootwrap_config_path>'. The file should be owned by root and not writable by the neutron user or other unprivileged users
    Affected if The rootwrap configuration file is owned by a non-root user or is world-writable, allowing manipulation
  5. Confirm rootwrap daemon mode status
    In neutron.conf, check if rootwrap is configured to run in non-daemon mode (the default vulnerable state). Look for settings under [agent] section or verify that no explicit secure configuration exists
    Affected if No explicit secure rootwrap configuration is defined in neutron.conf, leaving the default vulnerable behavior in place

You are affected if Neutron version is 2013.2.3 or earlier AND the rootwrap_config parameter in neutron.conf is either missing, commented out, or points to a configuration file with insecure ownership/permissions that could be manipulated.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2013.2.3
Interim mitigation

Update openstack-neutron to version 2013.2.3-7 or later, and verify that the rootwrap configuration file path is explicitly and securely set in the neutron configuration to prevent configuration injection.

Fix this in Ubuntu Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-6433 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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