BIT-vault-2021-38554: Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer vulnerability in vault (Go)

What is BIT-vault-2021-38554 About?

HashiCorp Vault is vulnerable to improper removal of sensitive information before storage or transfer. This could lead to sensitive data being exposed or logged inappropriately, increasing the risk of information leakage. The exploit involves specific data handling scenarios within Vault.

Affected Software

github.com/hashicorp/vault
- >1.7.0, <1.7.4
- <1.6.6

Technical Details

The vulnerability in HashiCorp Vault arises from an 'Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer'. This means that certain sensitive data, when being processed, stored internally, or prepared for transfer to another component or system, is not adequately sanitized or removed from temporary buffers or logs. As a result, this sensitive information could persist in unexpected locations (e.g., memory dumps, log files, or unencrypted storage), making it accessible to unauthorized entities who might then exploit this exposure for further attacks or data exfiltration.

What is the Impact of BIT-vault-2021-38554?

Successful exploitation may allow attackers to access sensitive information that was not properly removed, leading to data exposure, privacy violations, or enabling further attacks by leveraging the leaked data.

What is the Exploitability of BIT-vault-2021-38554?

Exploitation complexity is likely moderate to high, as it requires specific knowledge of how Vault handles and processes sensitive data. It would often involve either authenticated access to Vault or access to the underlying system where Vault runs (e.g., log files, memory). Remote exploitation might be possible if the sensitive data is inadvertently transferred over a network in an insecure manner, but local exploitation (e.g., reading logs on the server) is also a strong possibility. Privilege requirements vary; sometimes merely being an authenticated user could expose the issue, while other scenarios might require higher privileges to access relevant storage or log locations. Special conditions include specific Vault operations that trigger the improper handling of information.

What are the Known Public Exploits?

PoC Author	Link	Commentary
No known exploits

What are the Available Fixes for BIT-vault-2021-38554?

Available Upgrade Options

github.com/hashicorp/vault
- <1.6.6 → Upgrade to 1.6.6
github.com/hashicorp/vault
- >1.7.0, <1.7.4 → Upgrade to 1.7.4

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Additional Resources

What are Similar Vulnerabilities to BIT-vault-2021-38554?

Similar Vulnerabilities: CVE-2020-16250 , CVE-2020-16251 , CVE-2022-23577 , CVE-2020-27216 , CVE-2023-28434

BIT-vault-2021-38554 Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer vulnerability in vault (Go)