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Cloud InitApplication · Canonical

CVE-2024-6174

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 25.1.3 or later.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
When a non-x86 platform is detected, cloud-init grants root access to a hardcoded url with a local IP address. To prevent this, cloud-init default configurations disable platform enumeration.

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 · high confidence

On non-x86 platforms, cloud-init's platform enumeration feature grants root access to a hardcoded URL containing a local IP address, allowing potential remote attackers to gain root privileges via that endpoint.

MitigationDisable platform enumeration in cloud-init configurations, or upgrade to a patched version that removes the hardcoded URL and enforces proper access controls.

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
Cloud InitApplication
Affected:< 25.1.3

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

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

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. Verify cloud-init is installed
    Run 'cloud-init --version' or check for /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg
    Affected if cloud-init is not installed, the system is not affected by this CVE
  2. Determine installed cloud-init version
    Run 'cloud-init --version' and compare the version number to 25.1.3
    Affected if version is lower than 25.1.3, the system may be affected
  3. Identify system architecture
    Run 'uname -m' or check 'dpkg --print-architecture' to determine if the platform is non-x86 (e.g., aarch64, arm64, ppc64le)
    Affected if architecture is non-x86, the vulnerable code path can be triggered
  4. Check if platform enumeration is enabled in cloud-init config
    Inspect /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg or /etc/cloud.cfg for 'platform' or 'datasource' settings that enable enumeration; also check if cloud-init datasource configuration includes auto-detection
    Affected if platform enumeration or datasource auto-detection is enabled, the vulnerable code path is triggered on non-x86 platforms
  5. Inspect cloud-init datasource configuration for hardcoded URLs
    Review cloud-init logs (journalctl -u cloud-init) or configuration files for URLs containing local IP addresses (e.g., 169.254.169.254) that could be exploited
    Affected if hardcoded local IP URLs are present in datasource configuration, exploitation is possible if attacker has network access

System is affected if cloud-init version is below 25.1.3, running on a non-x86 architecture, and platform enumeration/datasource auto-detection is enabled, allowing an attacker with access to the hardcoded local IP to potentially gain root privileges.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 25.1.3 or later
Fixed in 25.1.3
Interim mitigation

Disable platform enumeration in cloud-init configurations, or upgrade to a patched version that removes the hardcoded URL and enforces proper access controls.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

cloud-init 25.1.3

  1. Identify the cloud-init configuration file (typically /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg or /etc/cloud.cfg)
  2. Backup the current cloud-init configuration file before making changes
  3. Upgrade cloud-init to version 25.1.3 or later using the system's package manager (e.g., apt-get install cloud-init=25.1.3, yum update cloud-init, or pip install --upgrade cloud-init==25.1.3 depending on your OS)
  4. After upgrade, verify the version by running: cloud-init --version
  5. Restart cloud-init services: systemctl restart cloud-init (or equivalent for your init system)
  6. If choosing config-based mitigation instead of upgrade, add or ensure these lines exist in /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg under the 'cloud_init_modules' or main section: 'disable_root: true' and 'allow_root: false'

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Cloud Init Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

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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-2024-6174 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data