CVE-2025-7044: MAAS User Websocket Vulnerability – Elevate to Admin Privilege!

Overview

CVE-2025-7044 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation vulnerability affecting the user websocket handler of MAAS (Metal as a Service). This flaw allows an authenticated but unprivileged attacker to elevate their privileges to that of an administrator. By intercepting and manipulating a user.update websocket request, the attacker can inject the is_superuser property set to true. The server’s inadequate input validation then grants the attacker full administrative control over the entire MAAS deployment.

Technical Details

The vulnerability resides in the MAAS’s handling of websocket requests related to user updates. Specifically, the application fails to properly sanitize and validate the is_superuser property included in the user.update request. An attacker can exploit this by:

1. Authenticating to the MAAS instance with a standard user account.
2. Intercepting the websocket traffic between the user’s browser and the MAAS server.
3. Modifying a user.update request to include the is_superuser: true property.
4. Sending the modified request to the server.
5. Due to the lack of validation, the server updates the user’s profile to grant administrator privileges.

This vulnerability highlights the importance of rigorous input validation, especially when handling sensitive parameters that control user roles and permissions.

CVSS Analysis

• CVSS Score: 7.7
• Severity: HIGH
• Vector: AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

The CVSS score reflects the high impact of this vulnerability. It is remotely exploitable (AV:N), requires low attack complexity (AC:L), and only requires low privileges (PR:L) to exploit. The exploit requires no user interaction (UI:N) and affects a single system scope (S:U), leading to high confidentiality (C:H), integrity (I:H), and availability (A:H) impacts.

Possible Impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-7044 can have severe consequences:

• Full Administrative Control: The attacker gains complete control over the MAAS deployment, allowing them to manage all machines, users, and configurations.
• Data Breach: The attacker can access sensitive data stored within the MAAS environment.
• System Compromise: The attacker can leverage their administrative privileges to compromise other systems within the network.
• Denial of Service: The attacker can disrupt the MAAS service, preventing legitimate users from accessing and managing their infrastructure.
• Malicious Deployment: The attacker can deploy compromised operating system images, leading to widespread compromise of provisioned servers.

Mitigation or Patch Steps

The recommended mitigation is to apply the patch provided by Canonical. Follow these steps:

1. Update MAAS: Upgrade your MAAS installation to the latest version containing the fix for this vulnerability. Check the official MAAS documentation for detailed upgrade instructions.
2. Verify Input Validation: After applying the patch, verify that the is_superuser property is properly validated in the user.update websocket handler.
3. Monitor for Suspicious Activity: Implement robust monitoring and logging to detect any attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

Important: Apply the patch as soon as possible to protect your MAAS deployment from potential attacks.

References

• CVE ID: CVE-2025-7044
• Launchpad Bug Report: https://bugs.launchpad.net/maas/+bug/2115714
• MAAS Documentation: Check the official MAAS documentation for update instructions. (Consult Canonical’s website for the specific version documentation pertaining to your installation)