Authorization Bypass in LXD During Instance Migration

Executive Summary

This is an authorization bypass flaw in LXD where an authenticated attacker can bypass project restrictions during instance migration. By providing malicious configuration overrides during migration, the attacker can move instances with high-privilege settings into restricted projects, bypassing security controls.

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Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, check LXD versions for affected releases (>=5.0 and <5.0.8, <5.21.6, <6.10). Inspect logs for instance migration requests with configuration overrides like security.privileged or raw.lxc. Look for unauthorized project changes or privilege escalations in audit logs.

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Impact Analysis

An attacker could exploit this to gain elevated privileges, create privileged containers, and escape to the host with root access. This could lead to full system compromise, data theft, or unauthorized access to sensitive resources.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, violating compliance requirements for data protection and privacy such as GDPR and HIPAA. It undermines security controls meant to protect regulated data.

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Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade LXD to patched versions (5.0.8, 5.21.6, or 6.10). Restrict migration permissions to trusted users. Monitor project configurations for unauthorized changes. Disable instance migration if not required.

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