Common Cloud Misconfigurations and How to Avoid Them

Amidst the rapid shift to cloud infrastructure, a pervasive vulnerability haunts organizations: cloud misconfigurations. This oversight exposes systems to an array of threats, from cloud misconfiguration breaches to ransomware and insider attacks. The NSA recognizes it as a critical vulnerability, predicting that human error will account for 99% of cloud environment failures by 2025. Collaborative action between DevOps and security teams becomes paramount, emphasizing proactive security measures from the outset of cloud adoption. These misconfigurations span unrestricted ports, inadequate secret management, and overlooked monitoring. Exploring these pitfalls and their solutions unveils a roadmap to safeguard cloud environments in an era rife with evolving cyber threats.

Cloud Misconfiguration – A Major Security Threat

Cloud security misconfiguration poses a significant risk during cloud adoption, leaving systems vulnerable to various threats like breaches, ransomware, or insider attacks. The NSA identifies it as a major vulnerability, and Gartner notes that 80% of breaches result from this issue, with human error causing 99% of cloud environment failures by 2025. Addressing this requires collaborative efforts between DevOps and security teams, emphasizing proactive security measures during the build stage to mitigate these persistent challenges.

Common Cloud Misconfigurations and Their Solutions

Here are some of the most common cloud misconfigurations with their solutions:

1.      Unrestricted Inbound Ports

Open internet ports present potential risks despite attempts to use high-number UDP or TCP ports for cloud security. Although obfuscation helps, it’s not a standalone solution. During multi-cloud migration, understanding all open ports is crucial. Take proactive measures to restrict or lock down unnecessary ports to enhance security.

2.      Unrestricted Outbound Ports

Granting outbound access to certain ports like RDP or SSH can lead to security risks such as data exfiltration and internal network scans post-system compromise. Often, providing SSH access from application servers to other network servers is unnecessary. Employ the principle of least privilege to restrict outbound port access, minimizing security vulnerabilities and potential misconfigurations.

3.      “Secrets” Management

This configuration vulnerability poses severe risks to your organization. Failing to secure essential secrets—API keys, passwords, encryption keys, and admin credentials—can be as risky as leaving keys taped to your front door. Companies often expose these crucial assets through compromised servers, poorly configured cloud storage, or code repositories. To mitigate this risk, maintain a comprehensive inventory of company secrets in the cloud, regularly assess their security, and consider employing robust secret management solutions. Failure to do so could grant threat actors access to your systems, compromising data and cloud resources irreversibly.

4.      Security Misconfiguration – Disabled Security Features (Monitoring and Logging)

Many organizations overlook configuring, activating, or assessing the intricate telemetry data and logs provided by public clouds. Having someone dedicated to regularly reviewing and flagging security incidents is crucial. This advice extends beyond IaaS public clouds—it applies to storage-as-a-service vendors too. Neglecting regular reviews could leave your organization vulnerable to significant security consequences, rendering maintenance alerts or updates futile without attentive oversight.

5.      ICMP Left Open

ICMP, the Internet Control Message Protocol, acts as a double-edged sword—it reports network device errors but remains a prime target for threat actors. While it showcases server responsiveness, cybercriminals exploit it to pinpoint attacks, orchestrating denial-of-service (DDoS) assaults and various malware intrusions. A ping flood inundating servers with ICMP messages remains an effective albeit dated strategy. Ensure your cloud configuration blocks ICMP to fortify against these threats.

6.      Insecure Automated Backups

Insider threats pose a constant risk in cloud environments, with about 92% of business credentials circulating on the darknet, as per McAfee. Inadequately securing automated cloud backups can create a vulnerability, potentially exposing critical data to insider threats.

While safeguarding master data is crucial, improperly configured backups can inadvertently leave you exposed. When transitioning to the cloud, prioritize encrypted backups, both at rest and in transit. Additionally, meticulously manage permissions to restrict access and fortify against potential insider breaches.

7.      Storage Access

Many assume that “authenticated users” in cloud storage only encompass those authenticated within specific apps or organizations. However, it extends to anyone with AWS authentication, essentially any AWS client. This misconception, coupled with control settings misconfigurations, can inadvertently expose your storage objects to public access. Exercise caution when granting access to storage objects, ensuring they’re restricted solely to individuals within your organization.

8.      Lack of Validation

This cloud configuration lapse is systemic: organizations often lack systems to promptly identify misconfigurations. It’s crucial to appoint an auditor, internal or external, to verify proper permissions and service configurations regularly. Establish a meticulous validation schedule to catch inevitable mistakes as your cloud environment evolves. Regular audits of cloud configurations are imperative to avoid leaving exploitable security loopholes for cybercriminals.

9.      Unlimited Access to Non-HTTPS/HTTP Ports

Web servers are built for web services and sites on the internet, including services like RDP or SSH for databases or management. Yet, restricting their access across the internet is vital. Misconfigured ports expose your cloud to brute-force attacks. When allowing web access, limit ports to specific addresses, like your office, to thwart unauthorized access attempts.

10.  Overly Permissive Access to Virtual Machines, Containers, and Hosts

Imagine connecting a server in your data center directly to the internet without any protection. Surprisingly, this is common in cloud setups. Examples abound:

• Enabling outdated protocols like FTP on cloud hosts
• Using legacy protocols (rexec, rsh, telnet) in virtual servers moved to the cloud
• Exposing etcd (port 2379) for Kubernetes clusters to the public internet

Avoid these cloud blunders by securing crucial ports and disabling insecure legacy protocols, just as you would in your on-premise data center.

11.  Enabling Too Many Cloud Access Permissions

Cloud scalability is a boon, yet its expansion can create pitfalls. Growing cloud environments become complex, obscuring system controls. This lack of oversight challenges admins in reviewing permissions, often resorting to default settings to manage access requests.

These unnecessary permissions heighten insider threat risks, leading to data breaches. Embracing Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture, leveraging Cloud Access Service Brokers (CASBs) and Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), enhances cloud security, managing user permissions in multi-cloud environments efficiently.

12.  Subdomain Hijacking (AKA Dangling DNS)

An overlooked vulnerability in cyber defense occurs when an organization removes a subdomain from its virtual host, yet fails to delete the associated records from the Domain Name System (DNS).

This oversight opens the door for attackers to reclaim the abandoned subdomain, directing users to malicious web pages. Subsequent malware or phishing attacks through hijacked subdomains jeopardize unsuspecting users and tarnish the original owner’s reputation significantly.

To prevent subdomain hijacking, organizations must consistently delete DNS records for inactive domains and subdomains.

13.  Misconfigurations Specific to Your Cloud Provider(s)

Misconfigurations in the cloud, such as open ports and excessive access, are common across providers, but certain issues are unique to particular services. For instance, AWS has known vulnerabilities like default public access settings for S3 buckets.

Organizations need to delve into service-specific cloud misconfigurations associated with their provider(s) for thorough security measures.

How to Safeguard Your Data from Cloud Misconfigurations

Here are some of our recommendations for secure cloud configuration and maintenance:

• Track Forgotten Services: Maintain vigilance over cloud applications and servers. Revisit configurations regularly to avoid overlooking any elements within your cloud infrastructure.
• Establish Policies and Templates: Propagate effective security settings across base configurations. This ensures future instances benefit from refined security standards and past learnings.
• Automate Security Checks: Utilize automation to regularly inspect running infrastructure and applications for security and compliance. Automation streamlines the process and enhances efficiency.
• Utilize Provider Tools: Understand the division of security responsibilities between you and the cloud provider. Adjust your focus based on the shared responsibility model prevalent in different cloud service models.
• Perform Risk Assessments: Conduct thorough cybersecurity risk assessments, particularly during data migration and operational shifts to the cloud. Identify potential threats across cloud storage and infrastructure segments.

Final Thoughts

Cloud misconfigurations pose significant risks, leaving systems vulnerable to breaches and cyber threats during adoption. From open ports to poor secret management, these errors create exploitable vulnerabilities. Proactive measures like inventory checks, restricting unnecessary ports, robust secret management, and regular security audits fortify defenses. Automation, provider tools, and stringent risk assessments enhance protection. Vigilance, standardized policies, and continuous reassessment are crucial in an evolving cloud landscape. Implementing collaborative efforts, emphasizing security during build stages, and adopting recommended practices are essential to fortify cloud environments against persistent threats of misconfigurations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are breaches due to cloud misconfiguration?

Breaches from cloud misconfigurations occur due to errors in access controls, weak authentication, unencrypted data, misconfigured services, lack of monitoring, unused resources, and risky third-party integrations, allowing unauthorized access and data exposure.

What are the most common cloud misconfigurations?

Common cloud misconfigurations include:

• Publicly Accessible Storage: Misconfigured storage settings, like leaving buckets or databases public instead of private, leading to data exposure.
• Weak Access Controls: Improperly configured permissions, granting excessive privileges, or using default credentials, allowing unauthorized access.
• Unencrypted Data: Failure to encrypt data in transit or at rest, making it vulnerable to interception or theft.
• Misconfigured Network Settings: Improperly configured firewall rules or network settings, creating entry points for attackers.
• Lack of Logging/Monitoring: Insufficient monitoring and logging, making it hard to detect unauthorized activities or security threats.
• Unused Resources: Neglecting to deactivate or secure unused resources, which can be exploited by attackers.
• Inadequate Identity and Access Management (IAM): Poorly managed IAM policies or misconfigured roles, leading to improper access permissions.

What are the effects of cloud misconfigurations?

Cloud misconfigurations can have significant and far-reaching effects:

• Data Breaches: Unauthorized access due to misconfigurations can lead to data leaks, exposing sensitive information and compromising user privacy.
• Financial Loss: Breaches can result in financial repercussions, including regulatory fines, legal fees, and loss of revenue due to downtime or damage to reputation.
• Operational Disruption: Misconfigurations might cause service interruptions or downtime, impacting business operations and customer trust.
• Reputational Damage: Publicized breaches can damage the company’s reputation, leading to loss of customer trust and confidence.
• Compliance Issues: Failure to comply with data protection regulations due to misconfigurations can result in penalties and legal consequences.
• Intellectual Property Theft: Misconfigurations can enable theft of intellectual property or proprietary information, harming competitiveness.
• Increased Security Risks: Misconfigurations might serve as entry points for further attacks, escalating security risks across the infrastructure.
• Resource Wastage: Inefficiently managed resources due to misconfigurations can lead to unnecessary costs and resource wastage.

Addressing these effects requires proactive measures such as regular security audits, robust access controls, employee training, encryption practices, and continuous monitoring to detect and rectify misconfigurations promptly.