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Openshift LoggingApplication · Redhat

CVE-2023-4456

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
A flaw was found in openshift-logging LokiStack. The key used for caching is just the token, which is too broad. This issue allows a user with a token valid for one action to execute other actions as long as the authorization allowing the original action is still cached.

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

In OpenShift Logging LokiStack, the caching mechanism uses only the authentication token as the cache key for authorization decisions. This overly broad cache key allows a token authorized for one action to be reused for other actions as long as the original authorization remains cached, enabling privilege escalation across different permissions.

MitigationModify the caching layer to include additional context in the cache key (such as the specific action, resource, and/or permission scope) rather than relying solely on the token, ensuring each distinct authorization is cached separately.

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
Openshift LoggingApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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 LokiStack deployment in OpenShift
    Run 'oc get lokistack -A' or 'oc get lokistack -n <namespace>' to list any LokiStack custom resources. Also check for pods with prefix 'loki-' using 'oc get pods -A | grep loki'
    Affected if LokiStack instances are present in the cluster
  2. Locate LokiStack pods and image versions
    Run 'oc get pods -A -o jsonpath="{.items[?(@.metadata.name=~'loki-.*')].spec.containers[*].image}"' to find Loki container images, or describe specific pods with 'oc describe pod <loki-pod-name>' to view image details
    Affected if LokiStack pods are running and using any image version (all versions are affected)
  3. Check for authorization caching configuration
    Examine LokiStack configuration by running 'oc get lokistack <instance-name> -o yaml' and look for cache, authorization, or auth-related configuration blocks. Also check ConfigMaps in the Loki namespace with 'oc get configmaps -n <logging-ns>'
    Affected if Cache configuration exists that uses token-only keys for authorization decisions
  4. Inspect Loki runtime configuration
    Check for ConfigMaps containing Loki runtime settings: 'oc get configmaps -n <logging-ns> -l app=loki' or inspect the 'loki-config' or similar ConfigMap. Look for 'cache' or 'authorization' configuration sections
    Affected if A caching layer is configured for authorization decisions in the LokiStack deployment
  5. Review API access patterns
    Monitor API requests to LokiStack using 'oc logs -n <logging-ns> <loki-pod> --tail=100' and check for authorization behavior. Look for scenarios where different API actions might share cached authorization results
    Affected if Multiple API actions with different permissions can be accessed using the same cached authorization token

If OpenShift Logging with LokiStack is deployed in the environment, the system is affected because all versions contain the overly broad cache key vulnerability where only the authentication token is used for authorization caching.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Modify the caching layer to include additional context in the cache key (such as the specific action, resource, and/or permission scope) rather than relying solely on the token, ensuring each distinct authorization is cached separately.

Fix this in Openshift Logging Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2023-4456 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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