[Openstack] [OSSN 0056] Cached keystone tokens may be accepted after revocation

Nathan Kinder nkinder at redhat.com
Fri Sep 18 02:22:27 UTC 2015


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Cached keystone tokens may be accepted after revocation
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### Summary ###
Keystone auth_token middleware token and revocation list caching is used
to reduce the load on the keystone service. The default token cache time
is set to 300 seconds and the default token revocation list cache time
is set to 10 seconds. This creates a misleading expectation that revoked
tokens will not be accepted more than 10 seconds after revocation,
however the maximum validity of a cached token must be assumed to be the
cache duration. System owners should make a risk based decision to
balance token lifespan with performance requirements and if the use of
revoked tokens is an unacceptable risk then caching should be disabled.

### Affected Services / Software ###
OpenStack Services that use Keystone middleware: Juno, Kilo, Liberty

### Discussion ###
There are multiple options for configuring token caching in the keystone
auth_token middleware. These options include token_cache_time,
revocation_cache_time and check_revocations_for_cached, with each option
affecting the different stages of token caching and revocation.
Depending on the configuration the previously mentioned options, an
attacker could use a compromised token for up to token_cache_time second
s
before the token becomes disabled. To mitigate this vulnerability, a
change was issued in Juno where the default Token Revocation List (TRL)
cache time was reduced to 10 seconds and the
check_revocations_for_cached option was added. The addition of a token
to a TRL does not guarantee that cached tokens will be rejected
considering the operational nature of token caching. For instance, if
the check_revocations_for_cached is disabled then tokens are valid after
caching token_cache_time or the designated expiration given to the
token. Otherwise (if check_revocations_for_cached is enabled) then
tokens are rejected after the revocation_cache_time.

System owners should weigh the risk of an attacker using a revoked token
versus the performance implications of reducing the token cache time.

### Recommended Actions ###
Review the implications of the default 300 second token cache time and
any risks associated with the use of revoked tokens for up to that cache
time. If this is unacceptable, reduce the cache time to reduce the
attack window or disable token caching entirely.

### Contacts / References ###
This OSSN : https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/OSSN/OSSN-0056
Original LaunchPad Bug :
https://bugs.launchpad.net/python-keystoneclient/+bug/1287301
OpenStack Security ML : openstack-security at lists.openstack.org
OpenStack Security Group : https://launchpad.net/~openstack-ossg
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