Ameeba Security Research

Defensive CVE and exploit intelligence

Ameeba Blog Search
TRENDING · 1 WEEK
Attack Vector
Vendor
Severity

CVE-2014-6274: Unencrypted AWS Credentials in git-annex

Views: 182

Overview

The CVE-2014-6274 vulnerability refers to a significant flaw discovered in git-annex, affecting the versions from 3.20121126 before 5.20140919. This vulnerability poses a serious threat to data security and integrity as the AWS credentials that are supposed to be encrypted are stored in plaintext, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2014-6274
Severity: High (7.5 CVSS)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise and potential data leakage

Affected Products

Ameeba Chat Icon Share secrets securely

Ameeba is private infrastructure for communication and sensitive work built on encrypted identity instead of exposed corporate identity systems.

Passwords, credentials, confidential files, screenshots, internal discussions, sensitive AI context, and private coordination should not become exposed across ordinary communication platforms.

  • • Encrypted identity
  • • Private Spaces for organizations and teams
  • • End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, files, and notes
  • • Sensitive AI work and protected collaboration
  • • Built for information that cannot leak

Our mission is to secure human work alongside AI.

Product | Affected Versions

git-annex | 3.20121126 to 5.20140919

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability arises from a bug in the S3 and Glacier remotes of git-annex. If the ’embedcreds=yes’ is set and the remote uses ‘encryption=pubkey’ or ‘encryption=hybrid’, the embedded AWS credentials are stored in the git repository in plaintext, rather than being encrypted. This misstep allows any malicious entity with access to the repository to retrieve the AWS credentials easily, leading to unauthorized access, system compromise, and data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

This vulnerability does not require any specific attack code as the credentials are exposed in plaintext. However, an attacker could potentially use the following shell command to clone the repository and access the exposed credentials.

git clone https://target.example.com/vulnerable/repository.git
grep -iR 'AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID' repository/

This command would clone the repository and then search for the plaintext AWS credentials within it.

Want to discuss this further? Join the Ameeba Cybersecurity Group Chat.

Disclaimer:

The information and code presented in this article are provided for educational and defensive cybersecurity purposes only. Any conceptual or pseudocode examples are simplified representations intended to raise awareness and promote secure development and system configuration practices.

Do not use this information to attempt unauthorized access or exploit vulnerabilities on systems that you do not own or have explicit permission to test.

Ameeba and its authors do not endorse or condone malicious behavior and are not responsible for misuse of the content. Always follow ethical hacking guidelines, responsible disclosure practices, and local laws.

More posts

Ameeba Chat