Sensitive Information Log Exposure in Snowflake CLI

Executive Summary

This vulnerability involves the Snowflake CLI versions prior to 3.19 writing sensitive information, such as plaintext credentials, into persistent local debug log files. If an attacker gains read access to these local log files, they can obtain credentials like passwords, tokens, or private key material without needing additional application-level protections.

The vulnerability occurs because the CLI inserts sensitive data into logs when credentials are present in the connection context, and these logs remain accessible on the local system.

The issue is fixed in Snowflake CLI version 3.19, and users must upgrade manually to mitigate this risk.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves plaintext credentials being written to persistent local debug log files by Snowflake CLI versions prior to 3.19. Detection involves checking for the presence of these log files on the local system and inspecting them for sensitive information such as passwords, tokens, or private key material.

Since the vulnerability requires local access to the log files, you can search for Snowflake CLI debug log files on the affected user's environment. For example, you might look for log files in typical log directories or the user's home directory.

Suggested commands to detect the presence of such logs and potentially exposed credentials include:

• On Unix/Linux systems, use: `find ~/. -type f -name "*snowflake*log*"` to locate log files.
• Use `grep` to search for keywords like 'password', 'token', or 'private key' within those logs, e.g., `grep -iE "password|token|private key" <logfile>`.
• Check the version of Snowflake CLI installed using `snowflake --version` or `snowflake_cli --version` to confirm if it is prior to 3.19.

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Mitigation Strategies

The primary mitigation step is to upgrade the Snowflake CLI to version 3.19 or later, where this vulnerability has been fixed.

Additionally, restrict access permissions to local log files to prevent unauthorized users from reading sensitive information.

Review and securely delete any existing debug log files that may contain plaintext credentials to reduce exposure.

Ensure that credentials are not unnecessarily stored or logged in plaintext in any application or environment.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability involves the insertion of sensitive information, such as plaintext credentials, into local debug log files. Exposure of such sensitive data could lead to unauthorized access to user credentials if an attacker obtains read access to these logs.

Since regulations like GDPR and HIPAA require the protection of sensitive personal and authentication data, this vulnerability could potentially lead to non-compliance if sensitive credentials are exposed due to inadequate logging safeguards.

Organizations using affected versions of Snowflake CLI must upgrade to version 3.19 to mitigate this risk and help maintain compliance with data protection standards.

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Impact Analysis

If exploited, this vulnerability can lead to exposure of sensitive credentials stored in the local debug logs of the Snowflake CLI. An attacker with read access to these logs could steal passwords, tokens, or private keys, potentially allowing unauthorized access to systems or data.

This exposure could compromise the security of your Snowflake environment and any connected resources that rely on these credentials.

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