Session Token Exposure in Foreman MCP Server

Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the foreman-mcp-server component, which uses two different logging mechanisms that can expose sensitive session and authentication data.

One logging mechanism records session identifiers, which act as authentication credentials, at an informational logging level.

The other mechanism, when debug logging is enabled, does not fully sanitize HTTP request headers, causing sensitive information such as authorization tokens and API keys to be logged in cleartext.

As a result, sensitive authentication data is stored in plain text within container logs, which increases the risk of confidentiality breaches, especially if these logs are forwarded to centralized logging platforms.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability leads to the exposure and logging of sensitive session and authentication data in cleartext within container logs. Such exposure of sensitive authentication credentials can result in confidentiality breaches.

Because sensitive data is stored in logs in an unprotected manner, this flaw could negatively impact compliance with standards and regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which require the protection of personal and sensitive information to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to a confidentiality breach by exposing sensitive authentication data such as session identifiers, authorization tokens, and API keys.

Since this sensitive information is logged in plain text within container logs, unauthorized individuals who gain access to these logs could misuse the credentials to impersonate users or access protected resources.

The risk is heightened if logs are forwarded to centralized platforms where more users or systems might have access.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by inspecting the foreman-mcp-server logs for the presence of sensitive session identifiers and authentication data logged in plaintext.

Specifically, check the logs for session IDs logged at the INFO level and HTTP request headers logged at the DEBUG level that may contain sensitive information such as Authorization tokens, Cookies, or API keys.

To detect this, you can use commands to search the container or system logs for these sensitive patterns.

• Use grep or similar tools to search logs for session identifiers or common sensitive header keywords, for example:
• grep -iE 'session_id|authorization|token|cookie|x-satellite-secret' /var/log/foreman-mcp-server/*.log
• Check the logging level configuration to see if DEBUG logging is enabled, which increases the risk of sensitive data exposure.
• For container logs, use: docker logs <container_id> | grep -iE 'authorization|token|cookie|session_id'

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include suppressing diagnostic logs that expose sensitive information by setting the mcp.server logger level to WARNING or higher.

This prevents session identifiers and sensitive HTTP headers from being logged at INFO or DEBUG levels.

Additionally, adopt an allow-list approach for sanitizing HTTP headers in logs, permitting only non-sensitive headers by default, rather than relying on a block-list that misses some sensitive headers.

Review and rotate any exposed credentials found in logs to prevent unauthorized access.

Monitor and restrict access to logs, especially if they are forwarded to centralized logging platforms, to reduce the risk of data leakage.

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