Description

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') vulnerability in Apache CloudStack's run and get diagnostics functionality for the system VMs and virtual routers. An authenticated user holding the permissions required to invoke either `getDiagnosticsData` or `runDiagnostics` can achieve arbitrary command execution on the system VM and/or Virtual Router instances, with commands running as root (or as the diagnostics-process user, at minimum). This represents a full compromise of the affected instance and, depending on network segmentation, may provide a foothold for lateral movement within the CloudStack-managed infrastructure, including access to guest network traffic handled by the compromised Virtual Router. The getDiagnosticsData and runDiagnostics APIs are restricted to only Admin role accounts by default. This issue affects Apache CloudStack: from 4.20.0.0 through 4.20.3.0 and from 4.21.0.0 through 4.22.1.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.20.3.1 or 4.22.1.1 or later, which fixes the issue.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "8.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-21T09:16:39.717Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-21T09:16:39.717Z",
  "executiveSummary": "An Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command (Command Injection) vulnerability exists in Apache CloudStack's run and get diagnostics functionality for system VMs and virtual routers.\nThe vulnerability allows an authenticated user with specific permissions to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges, specifically as root or the diagnostics-process user, on affected system VM and Virtual Router instances.\nThis flaw impacts Apache CloudStack versions from 4.20.0.0 through 4.20.3.0 and from 4.21.0.0 through 4.22.1.0.\nThe risk implications include a full compromise of the affected instance, potential lateral movement within the CloudStack-managed infrastructure depending on network segmentation, and unauthorized access to guest network traffic managed by compromised Virtual Routers.\nExploitation requires authentication and administrative privileges by default, as the getDiagnosticsData and runDiagnostics APIs are restricted to Admin role accounts unless altered.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability lies in the improper sanitization and neutralization of special elements within input data passed to system command execution routines inside the diagnostics functionality of Apache CloudStack.\nThe vulnerable components are the run and get diagnostics functionality, specifically exposed through the getDiagnosticsData and runDiagnostics APIs, which interact with system VMs and virtual routers.\nAffected software versions comprise Apache CloudStack from 4.20.0.0 through 4.20.3.0 and from 4.21.0.0 through 4.22.1.0.\nAuthentication and privilege requirements dictate that an attacker must possess an authenticated user account with the permissions required to invoke either the getDiagnosticsData or runDiagnostics APIs. By default, these APIs are restricted to Admin role accounts.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: an authenticated administrator or a user possessing the necessary diagnostics permissions submits crafted input containing malicious command metacharacters through the getDiagnosticsData or runDiagnostics API endpoints. Because the application fails to properly neutralize special elements before passing the input to the underlying operating system shell, the injected commands are concatenated and executed directly by the system.\nThe payload executes with high privileges on the target instance, running as root or as the diagnostics-process user at minimum.\nPost-exploitation impact includes complete system compromise of the targeted system VM or Virtual Router instance. Furthermore, due to the inherent role of Virtual Routers in handling network traffic, successful exploitation can provide a foothold for lateral movement across the broader CloudStack-managed infrastructure and yield unauthorized visibility into guest network traffic."
}