CVE-2023-3637 is an uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability found in the openstack-neutron service of Red Hat OpenStack Platform version 16.2. The flaw arises when a remote authenticated user queries security groups associated with an invalid project identifier. Because the system does not properly constrain resource creation by user quotas in this scenario, the attacker can generate resources that bypass quota limits. By issuing a high volume of such requests, an attacker can exhaust system resources, leading to denial of service (DoS) conditions impacting the availability of the OpenStack cloud environment. The vulnerability requires the attacker to have valid authentication credentials but does not require any user interaction. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3 (medium severity), reflecting the network attack vector, low complexity, required privileges, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and impact limited to availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time, and no patches or fixes have been explicitly linked in the provided data. The vulnerability affects Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2, a widely used enterprise cloud infrastructure solution, particularly in private and hybrid cloud deployments.

For European organizations relying on Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2, this vulnerability poses a risk of denial of service through resource exhaustion. The availability of cloud infrastructure services could be degraded or interrupted, impacting business continuity, especially for critical services hosted on OpenStack. Since the flaw allows bypassing quota restrictions, malicious insiders or compromised accounts could amplify the attack impact. This could affect sectors with high cloud adoption such as finance, telecommunications, government, and research institutions across Europe. The impact is primarily on availability, with no direct confidentiality or integrity compromise. However, service outages in cloud environments can cascade, affecting dependent applications and services, potentially causing operational disruptions and financial losses.

Organizations should implement strict quota enforcement and monitoring on OpenStack resources to detect anomalous usage patterns. Immediate mitigation includes restricting access to the openstack-neutron API to trusted users and applying role-based access controls to limit the ability to query security groups across projects. Red Hat customers should monitor Red Hat advisories for patches or updates addressing CVE-2023-3637 and apply them promptly once available. Additionally, deploying rate limiting on API endpoints can reduce the risk of resource exhaustion. Logging and alerting on unusual API request volumes or invalid project queries can help in early detection. Network segmentation and multi-factor authentication for OpenStack user accounts further reduce the risk of unauthorized exploitation. Regular security audits and penetration testing focused on quota and resource management controls are recommended.