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VaultApplication · Hashicorp

CVE-2024-7594

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.15.15 / 1.16.10 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Vault’s SSH secrets engine did not require the valid_principals list to contain a value by default. If the valid_principals and default_user fields of the SSH secrets engine configuration are not set, an SSH certificate requested by an authorized user to Vault’s SSH secrets engine could be used to authenticate as any user on the host. Fixed in Vault Community Edition 1.17.6, and in Vault Enterprise 1.17.6, 1.16.10, and 1.15.15.

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

Vault's SSH secrets engine allows authorized users to request SSH certificates. When the valid_principals and default_user fields are not explicitly configured (left at default), the generated certificate can be used to authenticate as any user on target hosts, enabling privilege escalation from an authorized Vault user to root/any system account.

MitigationUpgrade to Vault 1.17.6+ (Community) or 1.17.6/1.16.10/1.15.15+ (Enterprise) and explicitly configure valid_principals and default_user in the SSH secrets engine to restrict which users certificates can authenticate as.

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
VaultApplication
Affected:>= 1.7.7, < 1.15.15>= 1.7.7, < 1.17.6>= 1.16.0, < 1.16.10>= 1.17.0, < 1.17.6
OpenbaoApplication
Affected:< 2.0.2

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check Vault or Openbao version
    Run `vault version` or `openbao version` to obtain the installed version number
    Affected if Version is >= 1.7.7 and < 1.15.15, or >= 1.16.0 and < 1.16.10, or >= 1.17.0 and < 1.17.6 for Vault; or < 2.0.2 for Openbao
  2. Identify enabled SSH secrets engines
    Run `vault secrets list` or `openbao secrets list` and look for paths of type `ssh`
    Affected if No SSH secrets engine is enabled - the vulnerability only applies if SSH secrets engine is in use
  3. List SSH secret engine roles
    Run `vault list <ssh-engine-path>/roles` (e.g., `vault list ssh/roles`) for each SSH secrets engine path found
    Affected if No roles exist under the SSH secrets engine - the vulnerability requires at least one role to be configured
  4. Inspect role configuration for valid_principals
    Run `vault read <ssh-engine-path>/roles/<role-name>` for each role and check if the `valid_principals` field is explicitly set to a specific value (not empty or default)
    Affected if The `valid_principals` field is empty, not set, or defaults to allowing any principal
  5. Inspect role configuration for default_user
    Run `vault read <ssh-engine-path>/roles/<role-name>` for each role and check if the `default_user` field is explicitly set to a specific value
    Affected if The `default_user` field is empty, not set, or allows authentication as any user

You are affected if you run an affected Vault/Openbao version, have the SSH secrets engine enabled with roles that lack explicit valid_principals or default_user configuration, allowing certificate-based authentication as any user on target hosts.

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 1.15.15 / 1.16.10 / 1.17.6 or later
Fixed in 1.15.151.16.101.17.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Vault 1.17.6+ (Community) or 1.17.6/1.16.10/1.15.15+ (Enterprise) and explicitly configure valid_principals and default_user in the SSH secrets engine to restrict which users certificates can authenticate as.

Recommended fix High confidence

Vault 1.17.6 (or Vault Enterprise 1.17.6/1.16.10/1.15.15 per version line; OpenBao 2.0.2)

  1. Identify all Vault instances running versions >= 1.7.7 that are affected (check versions 1.7.7 through 1.15.14, 1.16.0 through 1.16.9, or 1.17.0 through 1.17.5)
  2. For Vault Enterprise, determine which version line you are on to select the appropriate fixed release (1.15.15, 1.16.10, or 1.17.6)
  3. Upgrade Vault to the appropriate fixed version: 1.17.6 (recommended for most), 1.16.10, or 1.15.15
  4. If using OpenBao, upgrade to version 2.0.2 or later
  5. After upgrade, verify the SSH secrets engine configuration includes explicit values for valid_principals and default_user to prevent the vulnerability
  6. Test SSH certificate issuance and authentication to confirm the fix is effective
Caveat Standard Vault minor version upgrade considerations apply; review HashiCorp upgrade guides for breaking changes between your current and target version

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

Fix this in Vault Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2024-7594 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
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data