Critical severity9.8NVD Advisory· Published Aug 25, 2012· Updated Apr 29, 2026
CVE-2012-3503
CVE-2012-3503
Description
The installation script in Katello 1.0 and earlier does not properly generate the Application.config.secret_token value, which causes each default installation to have the same secret token, and allows remote attackers to authenticate to the CloudForms System Engine web interface as an arbitrary user by creating a cookie using the default secret_token.
Affected packages
Versions sourced from the GitHub Security Advisory.
| Package | Affected versions | Patched versions |
|---|---|---|
katelloRubyGems | < 1.0.6 | 1.0.6 |
katelloRubyGems | >= 1.1.0, < 1.1.7 | 1.1.7 |
Affected products
2- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Patches
27c256fef9d75Merge pull request #499 from lzap/secret_token
2 files changed · +20 −12
src/config/initializers/secret_token.rb+13 −6 modified@@ -1,7 +1,14 @@ -# Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file. +require 'active_support/secure_random' -# Your secret key for verifying the integrity of signed cookies. -# If you change this key, all old signed cookies will become invalid! -# Make sure the secret is at least 30 characters and all random, -# no regular words or you'll be exposed to dictionary attacks. -Src::Application.config.secret_token = 'f466b184ef680822293d7130f57593a7087a34b5de0607c64d1ceb66fcac4dce6810a6f176feba3fbbf2489de93c0918397c0c275996eb476b2fa6079ab849c1' +begin + # Read token string from the file. + token = IO.read('/etc/katello/secret_token') + raise RuntimeError, 'Size is too small' if token.length < 9 + Src::Application.config.secret_token = token.chomp +rescue Exception => e + # If anything is wrong make sure the token is random. This is safe even when + # Katello is not configured correctly for any reason (but session is lost + # after each restart). + Rails.logger.warn "Using randomly generated secure token: #{e.message}" + Src::Application.config.secret_token = ActiveSupport::SecureRandom.hex(80) +end
src/katello.spec+7 −6 modified@@ -364,19 +364,20 @@ install -m 644 man/katello-service.8 %{buildroot}/%{_mandir}/man8 /sbin/chkconfig --add %{name} /sbin/chkconfig --add %{name}-jobs -%postun common -#update config/initializers/secret_token.rb with new key -NEWKEY=$(</dev/urandom tr -dc A-Za-z0-9 | head -c128) -sed -i "s/^Src::Application.config.secret_token = '.*'/Src::Application.config.secret_token = '$NEWKEY'/" \ - %{homedir}/config/initializers/secret_token.rb +#Generate secret token if the file does not exist +#(this must be called both for installation and upgrade) +TOKEN=/etc/katello/secret_token +test -f $TOKEN || (echo $(</dev/urandom tr -dc A-Za-z0-9 | head -c128) > $TOKEN \ + && chmod 600 $TOKEN && chown katello:katello $TOKEN) %posttrans common -rm %{datadir}/Gemfile.lock +rm -f %{datadir}/Gemfile.lock 2>/dev/null /sbin/service %{name} condrestart >/dev/null 2>&1 || : %files %attr(600, katello, katello) %{_bindir}/katello-* +%ghost %attr(600, katello, katello) %{_sysconfdir}/%{name}/secret_token %{homedir}/app/controllers %{homedir}/app/helpers %{homedir}/app/mailers
6a7a1e037e80https://github.com/Katello/katellovia nvd-ref
Vulnerability mechanics
Generated by null/stub on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
11- github.com/Katello/katello/commit/7c256fef9d75029d0ffff58ff1dcda915056d3a3nvdPatchWEB
- rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1186.htmlnvdBroken LinkThird Party AdvisoryWEB
- rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1187.htmlnvdThird Party AdvisoryWEB
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/55140nvdBroken LinkThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-5xv2-q475-rwrhghsaADVISORY
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-3503ghsaADVISORY
- secunia.com/advisories/50344nvdBroken Link
- github.com/Katello/katello/pull/499nvdIssue TrackingWEB
- github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/katello/CVE-2012-3503.ymlghsaWEB
- web.archive.org/web/20140806122239/http://secunia.com/advisories/50344ghsaWEB
- web.archive.org/web/20200229120740/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/55140ghsaWEB
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