Authenticated users can bypass taxonomy scoping to download private SSH keys in Foreman

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-5142 is a vulnerability in Foreman that allows authenticated users with the 'view_keypairs' permission to bypass taxonomy scoping controls.

This bypass enables these users to directly query key pair IDs and download private SSH keys belonging to other organizations in multi-tenant deployments.

The attack requires a valid user account with the appropriate permission and the ability to guess or enumerate predictable key pair IDs.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring for attempts where authenticated users with the 'view_keypairs' permission query key pair IDs directly, especially if these IDs are predictable or enumerated.

Detection involves auditing logs for unusual access patterns to private SSH keys across different organizations, particularly requests that bypass taxonomy scoping.

Since the vulnerability requires guessing or enumerating key pair IDs, commands or scripts that repeatedly request key pair data with varying IDs could indicate exploitation attempts.

Specific commands are not provided in the resources, but administrators should review Foreman access logs and API request logs for suspicious queries involving key pair IDs.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to cross-tenant data exposure by allowing unauthorized access to private SSH keys from other organizations.

Compromise of private SSH keys can result in unauthorized access to systems, potentially leading to further security breaches or data loss.

Since the vulnerability affects multi-tenant deployments, it can impact multiple organizations sharing the same Foreman instance.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability leads to cross-tenant data exposure in multi-tenant deployments by allowing authenticated users with specific permissions to download private SSH keys from other organizations. Such unauthorized access to sensitive information could potentially compromise compliance with data protection standards and regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which require strict controls over access to sensitive data and prevention of data breaches.

However, the provided information does not explicitly mention the impact on compliance with these standards or any regulatory consequences.

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include restricting the 'view_keypairs' permission to only trusted users and roles, minimizing the number of users who can access private SSH keys.

Administrators should monitor and audit access to key pairs to detect and prevent unauthorized downloads.

Applying any available patches or updates from the Foreman product security team as soon as they are released is critical to fully resolve the issue.

Until a patch is applied, consider implementing additional access controls or network segmentation to limit exposure in multi-tenant environments.

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