Analysis Summary

A vulnerability in Styra's Open Policy Agent (OPA) has been patched. If it had been successfully exploited, it may have resulted in the leakage of New Technology LAN Manager (NTLM) hashes.

An attacker might have been able to relay authentication or crack the password by using the vulnerability to leak the OPA server's local user account's NTLM credentials to a distant server. The CLI and Go software development kit (SDK) for Windows are both affected by the vulnerability, which is identified as a Server Message Block (SMB) force-authentication vulnerability and tracked as CVE-2024-8260 (CVSS score: 6.1/7.3).

According to the researchers, inadequate input validation is the root cause of the problem, which might allow unwanted access by disclosing the Net-NTLMv2 hash of the user currently logged into the Windows device that is running the OPA application. The victim must be able to start outgoing Server Message Block (SMB) communication via port 445, though, for this to function. The following is a list of additional requirements that add to the medium severity:

• An initial environmental foothold, or user social engineering, that prepares the way for the OPA CLI to be executed
• Supplying the OPA CLI or the OPA Go library's functions with a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path rather than a Rego rule file

This kind of credential collection might subsequently be used as a weapon to execute offline cracking to retrieve the password or to stage a relay attack to get around authentication. Windows requires the local computer to authenticate to the distant server using NTLM whenever a user or application tries to access a remote share. The remote server receives the local user's NTLM hash throughout this procedure. By using this technique, an attacker can obtain the credentials and use them to relay authentication or crack hashes offline.

Version 0.68.0, which was made available on August 29, 2024, fixed the issue after it was responsibly disclosed on June 19, 2024. It is essential to make sure open-source initiatives are safe and do not increase the attack surface for vendors and their clients when they are included in more widely used solutions. To safeguard their systems, businesses must also limit the amount of information that is made public unless it is required.

Impact

• Exposure of Sensitive Data
• Unauthorized Access
• Security Bypass

Indicators of Compromise

CVE

• CVE-2024-8260

Affected Vendors

Remediation

• Upgrade to the latest version of Open Policy Agent, available from the Open Policy Agent GIT Repository.
• Organizations must test their assets for the vulnerability mentioned above and apply the available security patch or mitigation steps as soon as possible.
• Implement multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security to login processes.
• Regularly monitor network activity for any unusual behavior, as this may indicate that a cyberattack is underway.
• Organizations must stay vigilant and follow best practices for cybersecurity to protect their systems and data from potential threats. This includes regularly updating software and implementing strong access controls and monitoring tools.
• Develop a comprehensive incident response plan to respond effectively in case of a security breach or data leakage.
• Maintain regular backups of critical data and systems to ensure data recovery in case of a security incident.
• Adhere to security best practices, including the principle of least privilege, and ensure that users and applications have only the necessary permissions.
• Establish a robust patch management process to ensure that security patches are evaluated, tested, and applied promptly.
• Conduct security audits and assessments to evaluate the overall security posture of your systems and networks.
• Implement network segmentation to contain and isolate potential threats to limit their impact on critical systems.