CVE-2012-5571
Openstack keystone: openstack keystone: authorization bypass via improper ec2 token handling
CVE-2012-5571 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.4) in Openstack Essex, published December 18, 2012. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.05%, the 81st percentile. Fixed in keystone 8.0.0a0.
A flaw was found in OpenStack Keystone. This vulnerability allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions. This occurs because OpenStack Keystone does not properly handle EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) tokens when a user's role has been removed from a tenant. An attacker can leverage a token associated with a removed user role to gain unauthorized access.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Openstack keystone: openstack keystone: authorization bypass via improper ec2 token handling
A flaw was found in OpenStack Keystone. This vulnerability allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions. This occurs because OpenStack Keystone does not properly handle EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) tokens when a user's role has been removed from a tenant. An attacker can leverage a token associated with a removed user role to gain unauthorized access.
- Record
CVE-2012-5571- CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2012-0016
A flaw was found in OpenStack Keystone. This vulnerability allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions. This occurs because OpenStack Keystone does not properly handle EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) tokens when a user's role has been removed from a tenant. An attacker can leverage a token associated with a removed user role to gain unauthorized access.
- Record
EUVD-2012-0016- CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-qvpr-qm6w-6rcc
OpenStack Keystone intended authorization restrictions bypass
OpenStack Keystone Essex (2012.1) and Folsom (2012.2) does not properly handle EC2 tokens when the user role has been removed from a tenant, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions by leveraging a token for the removed user role.
- Record
GHSA-qvpr-qm6w-6rcc- CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A flaw was found in OpenStack Keystone. This vulnerability allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions. This occurs because OpenStack Keystone does not properly handle EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) tokens when a user's role has been removed from a tenant. An attacker can leverage a token associated with a removed user role to gain unauthorized access.
- Record
CVE-2012-5571- CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 3.5 Low
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-639, CWE-255
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2012-5571
A flaw was found in OpenStack Keystone. This vulnerability allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions. This occurs because OpenStack Keystone does not properly handle EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) tokens when a user's role has been removed from a tenant. An attacker can leverage a token associated with a removed user role to gain unauthorized access.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2012-5571- CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-qvpr-qm6w-6rcc
OpenStack Keystone intended authorization restrictions bypass
OpenStack Keystone Essex (2012.1) and Folsom (2012.2) does not properly handle EC2 tokens when the user role has been removed from a tenant, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions by leveraging a token for the removed user role.
- Record
GHSA-qvpr-qm6w-6rcc- CVSS 3.1
- 5.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-639
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV No score
OpenStack Keystone Essex (2012.1) and Folsom (2012.2) does not properly handle EC2 tokens when the user role has been removed from a tenant, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions by leveraging a token for the removed user role.
- Record
CVE-2012-5571- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVPYSEC-2012-35 No score
OpenStack Keystone Essex (2012.1) and Folsom (2012.2) does not properly handle EC2 tokens when the user role has been removed from a tenant, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended authorization restrictions by leveraging a token for the removed user role.
- Record
PYSEC-2012-35- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
History
| When | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-03 | affected | |
| 2026-11-02 | created | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
References
lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2012-December/094286.html
rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1556.html
secunia.com/advisories/51423
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/11/28/5
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securityfocus.com/bid/56726
ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1641-1
access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012:1556
bugs.launchpad.net/keystone/+bug/1064914
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/80333
github.com/openstack/keystone/commit/37308dd4f3e33f7bd0f71d83fd51734d1870713b
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-5571
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2012-5571