CVE-2024-8007 is a vulnerability identified in the openstack-tripleo-common component of the Red Hat OpenStack Platform (RHOSP) director. The core issue is improper TLS certificate validation when interacting with container image registry mirrors. Specifically, the vulnerability allows an attacker to disable TLS certificate verification, which is a critical security mechanism designed to ensure the authenticity and integrity of container images being pulled from registry mirrors. By disabling this verification, an attacker positioned as a man-in-the-middle (MITM) can intercept and manipulate container images during deployment. This could lead to the deployment of malicious or compromised containers within the cloud infrastructure managed by RHOSP. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.1, indicating high severity, with attack vector as network (AV:N), requiring high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). The flaw affects the integrity of the container supply chain and the overall security posture of cloud environments relying on RHOSP director for orchestration. No known exploits have been reported in the wild yet, but the potential impact is significant given the critical role of container images in cloud deployments. The vulnerability was publicly disclosed on August 21, 2024, and no patch links are currently provided, suggesting that remediation may require vendor updates or configuration changes to enforce TLS verification.

For European organizations, especially those operating private or public clouds using Red Hat OpenStack Platform, this vulnerability poses a serious risk. The ability to deploy compromised container images can lead to unauthorized code execution, data breaches, and disruption of cloud services. Confidentiality is at risk as attackers could inject backdoors or malware into containers, potentially accessing sensitive data. Integrity is compromised because the authenticity of container images cannot be guaranteed, undermining trust in the deployment pipeline. Availability could be affected if malicious containers disrupt services or cause system failures. Given the widespread use of OpenStack in European government, finance, research, and telecommunications sectors, the impact could extend to critical infrastructure and sensitive data environments. The attack does not require authentication or user interaction, increasing the risk of exploitation by remote attackers with network access to registry mirrors. The lack of known exploits in the wild provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the high severity score underscores the urgency of addressing this vulnerability.

European organizations should immediately review their RHOSP director configurations to ensure TLS certificate verification for container registry mirrors is enabled and enforced. Network segmentation should be applied to restrict access to registry mirrors only to trusted systems and networks. Monitoring network traffic for unusual TLS handshake anomalies or unexpected registry mirror communications can help detect potential MITM attempts. Organizations should subscribe to Red Hat security advisories and apply patches or updates as soon as they become available. Where patching is delayed, consider using container image signing and verification tools to add an additional layer of trust to container deployments. Implement strict supply chain security practices, including scanning container images for vulnerabilities and verifying image provenance. Regular audits of cloud orchestration components and registry configurations can help identify misconfigurations that might allow TLS verification to be disabled. Finally, consider deploying network-level protections such as TLS interception detection and anomaly-based intrusion detection systems to identify exploitation attempts.