CVE-2024-7096 is a privilege escalation vulnerability identified in WSO2 Open Banking IAM version 2.0.0, stemming from a business logic flaw in the SOAP administrative services. The vulnerability arises when certain deployment-specific conditions are met: SOAP admin services must be accessible to the attacker; the deployment must include an internally used attribute not present in the default WSO2 configuration; at least one custom role with non-default permissions must exist; and the attacker must have knowledge of both the custom role and the internal attribute. Under these circumstances, an attacker can exploit the flaw to create a new user account with elevated privileges, effectively bypassing intended access control mechanisms. This flaw is categorized under CWE-863, which pertains to incorrect authorization, indicating that the system fails to properly enforce access control policies. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.2, reflecting a medium severity level, with the vector indicating that the attack requires adjacent network access (AV:A), high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), and low impact on confidentiality and integrity (C:L/I:L) with no impact on availability (A:N). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability is particularly relevant for deployments that customize roles and attributes beyond the default configuration, which is common in complex enterprise environments such as banking institutions using WSO2 Open Banking IAM for identity and access management.

For European organizations, especially those in the financial sector utilizing WSO2 Open Banking IAM, this vulnerability poses a risk of unauthorized privilege escalation. Exploitation could allow attackers to create accounts with elevated permissions, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive financial data, manipulation of user roles, and disruption of identity management processes. Although the attack complexity is high and requires specific knowledge and network proximity, the impact on confidentiality and integrity could be significant if exploited, undermining trust in banking identity systems and possibly facilitating further attacks such as fraud or data breaches. Given the critical role of IAM systems in regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, PSD2), exploitation could also result in legal and reputational consequences. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the presence of this flaw in a core banking IAM product necessitates proactive mitigation to prevent future exploitation.

European organizations should undertake a thorough review of their WSO2 Open Banking IAM deployments to identify any custom roles and internally used attributes that deviate from default configurations. Restrict access to SOAP admin services strictly to trusted administrative networks, ideally isolating these services from adjacent networks accessible by general users or external entities. Implement network segmentation and firewall rules to limit exposure of SOAP admin endpoints. Conduct audits of user creation workflows to detect anomalous privilege assignments. Where possible, disable or remove unused custom roles and internal attributes to reduce the attack surface. Monitor logs for suspicious activity related to user creation and role assignment. Engage with WSO2 for updates or patches addressing this vulnerability and plan for timely application once available. Additionally, consider implementing multi-factor authentication and enhanced monitoring around administrative functions to detect and prevent unauthorized privilege escalations.