GitHub Advisoryadvisory · Go
GHSA-598g-h2vc-h5vg nebula-mesh: API endpoints lack ownership checks, enabling cross-operator privilege escalation
CRITICAL
Official page ↗
- Aliases
- CVE-2026-47724
- Ecosystem
- Go
- Packages
- github.com/juev/nebula-mesh
- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weaknesses
- CWE-862
- Reviewed
- 2026-06-08
Affected packages
• Go github.com/juev/nebula-mesh: < 0.3.4 → fixed in 0.3.4
Description
The `/api/v1/*` route surface trusts the bearer token alone for authorisation on most endpoints. The codebase itself admits this at `internal/api/hosts.go:384`: *"API trusts the bearer token for authorisation; per-CA ownership is enforced only in the Web layer."*
The Web UI gates state-changing routes through `loadAccessibleCA` (`internal/web/cas.go`); CA-management endpoints in `internal/api/cas.go` ALSO have proper `canAccessCA` gates. The gap is on the host, network, firewall, mobile-bundle, and most operator endpoints. Combined with the per-operator CA model from ADR 0002, this gives any non-admin operator API key broad cross-tenant access — instant privilege escalation in the worst case.
Affected
All released versions prior to v0.3.4.
Exploit chain
A) Mint admin API key from any operator key (instant privilege escalation)
`internal/api/operators.go:118` — `handleCreateOperatorAPIKey` does no admin check and no actor/target-operator ownership check. Any operator key can call it for any operator (including admins) and receive a fresh bearer.
```
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer " \
https://server/api/v1/operators//api-keys \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"name":"oops"}'
Returns: {"key":"","entry":{...}}
```
Reuse the returned key for subsequent requests → full admin.
B) Cross-operator host takeover via reenroll
`internal/api/hosts.go:321,330` → `mintEnrollmentTokenForHost`. Looks up host by URL param, mints a single-use enrollment token, returns it. No ownership check.
```
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer " \
https://server/api/v1/hosts//reenroll
Returns: {"enrollment_token":"",...}
```
Caller POSTs `/api/v1/enroll` with their own X25519 + Ed25519 keypairs. `enroll.go:175` overwrites `signing_pub_pem`; `SaveCertificateAndEnrollHost` overwrites the cert. Legitimate agent's next signed poll fails `bad_signature`. Attacker now owns the victim's Nebula identity.
C) Cross-tenant CRUD on hosts, networks, firewall
The same gap applies across:
• `/api/v1/hosts*` — create, list, get, update, delete, block, unblock
• `/api/v1/networks*` — create, list, get
• `/api/v1/networks/{id}/firewall` — get, PUT
• `/api/v1/hosts/{id}/mobile-bundle` (already filed as public issue #119)
All trust bearer-auth alone. Any operator can read or mutate any other operator's resources.
Affected operator-management handlers (in addition to A)
Beyond `handleCreateOperatorAPIKey` (covered by A), `internal/api/operators.go` is missing admin gates on:
• `handleListOperators` (line 66) — operator roster info disclosure
• `handleDisableOperator` (line 79) — DoS / sabotage
• `handleEnableOperator` (line 94) — re-enable disabled operators
• `handleRevokeOperatorAPIKey` (line 157) — invalidate any operator's API keys
• `handleListOperatorAPIKeys` (line 173) — API-key metadata disclosure
`handleCreateOperator` (line 26) IS properly gated (`actorIsAdmin` at line 27).
NOT affected (verified)
`internal/api/cas.go` properly gates every CA endpoint via `canAccessCA` (calls at lines 70, 176, 216) and admin shortcuts at lines 39, 82. An earlier description draft mistakenly listed `/api/v1/cas/{id}/rotate` as affected — that endpoint is properly protected. CAs are not in this gap.
Impact
• Any non-admin operator → admin via one curl (A).
• Any non-admin operator → ownership of any victim's hosts with cert + identity transfer (B).
• Mass cross-tenant CRUD including firewall-rule mutation (C).
• Any operator → disable/enable other operators, revoke their API keys, enumerate the operator roster.
CVSS 3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H — 9.6.
Suggested fix
Shared helpers in a new `internal/api/authz.go`, mirroring the Web layer's `loadAccessibleCA`:
```go
func (s *Server) requireAdmin(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) bool
func (s *Server) requireOperatorAccess(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, operatorID string) bool
func (s *Server) requireHostAccess(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, hostID string) (*models.Host, bool)
func (s *Server) requireNetworkAccess(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, networkID string) (*models.Network, bool)
```
Each loads the resource, resolves its CA via `*.CAID`, accepts if `actorIsAdmin(ctx)` OR actor owns the CA. Reject `403 forbidden`; audit-log `api..forbidden` with the reason.
The operator-management endpoints take `requireAdmin` instead (operator ownership doesn't map to CA ownership).
Apply at the top of every host-, network-, firewall-, mobile-bundle-touching API handler, plus the 5 operator endpoints listed above. The legacy config-key path retains admin (preserves backward compatibility); the broader legacy-fallback question is tracked separately as issue #121.
Test matrix
• admin → all operations permitted
• owning non-admin → operations on owned hosts/networks permitted
• non-owner non-admin → 403 + audit entry
• legacy config-key → preserved (admin)
• unauthenticated → existing 401 from middleware
Coordinated context
Subsumes public issue #119 (mobile-bundle authz). Issue #121 (actor.go:40 legacy-admin fallback) is a separate concern tracked independently.
Related
Alias · CVE (1)
- CVE-2026-47724 nebula-mesh is a self-hosted control plane for Slack Nebula mesh virtual private network. vulnerability
Weakness · CWE (1)
- CWE-862 Missing Authorization weakness