📄 Description (English)
Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI) Privilege Escalation Vulnerability — Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI) within Azure VM Management Extensions contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows for privilege escalation.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2021-38645 is a critical privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI) affecting Azure VM Management Extensions with a CVSS score of 9.0. Exploitation allows attackers to escalate privileges on affected systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise. With public exploits available, this vulnerability poses an immediate and severe threat to organizations running Azure infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 21, 2026 02:51
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability critically impacts Saudi organizations leveraging Azure cloud infrastructure, particularly: (1) Banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions) relying on Azure for core systems and customer data; (2) Government entities (NCA oversight) using Azure for e-government services; (3) Healthcare providers managing patient records on Azure; (4) Energy sector (ARAMCO and subsidiaries) utilizing Azure for operational technology; (5) Telecommunications (STC, Mobily) running management infrastructure on Azure. The privilege escalation capability enables lateral movement, data exfiltration, and persistent access to sensitive systems.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking and Financial Services
Government and Public Administration
Healthcare and Medical Services
Energy and Utilities
Telecommunications
Cloud Service Providers
Enterprise IT Infrastructure
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
9.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all Azure VMs with OMI installed by checking /opt/omi/bin/omi_cli or querying Azure Resource Manager for OMI extension deployments
2. Isolate affected VMs from production networks if patches cannot be applied immediately
3. Enable Azure Security Center alerts for OMI-related activities
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Apply Microsoft security update KB5004394 or later for OMI (version 1.6.8.1 or higher)
2. Update Azure VM Agent to latest version
3. Redeploy affected VMs with patched images if in-place patching fails
4. Verify patch installation: /opt/omi/bin/omi --version should show 1.6.8.1+
COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
1. Restrict SSH/RDP access to Azure VMs using Network Security Groups (NSGs) and Azure Bastion
2. Implement Just-In-Time (JIT) VM access through Azure Security Center
3. Monitor OMI process execution and privilege escalation attempts via Azure Monitor and Log Analytics
4. Disable OMI if not required: systemctl disable omid
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for /opt/omi/bin/omi process spawning with elevated privileges
2. Alert on unexpected sudo/su commands from omi user account
3. Track modifications to /opt/omi/etc/ configuration files
4. Monitor for OMI authentication failures followed by privilege escalation attempts
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع أجهزة Azure VMs التي تحتوي على OMI المثبتة عن طريق التحقق من /opt/omi/bin/omi_cli أو الاستعلام عن نشر امتدادات OMI
2. عزل أجهزة VM المتأثرة عن شبكات الإنتاج إذا لم يكن من الممكن تطبيق التصحيحات فوراً
3. تفعيل تنبيهات Azure Security Center المتعلقة بأنشطة OMI
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. تطبيق تحديث الأمان من Microsoft KB5004394 أو إصدار أحدث لـ OMI (الإصدار 1.6.8.1 أو أحدث)
2. تحديث Azure VM Agent إلى أحدث إصدار
3. إعادة نشر أجهزة VM المتأثرة باستخدام صور معدلة إذا فشل التصحيح في المكان
4. التحقق من تثبيت التصحيح: /opt/omi/bin/omi --version يجب أن يظهر 1.6.8.1+
الضوابط البديلة:
1. تقييد وصول SSH/RDP إلى أجهزة Azure VMs باستخدام مجموعات الأمان (NSGs) و Azure Bastion
2. تنفيذ وصول VM في الوقت المناسب (JIT) من خلال Azure Security Center
3. مراقبة تنفيذ عملية OMI ومحاولات تصعيد الامتيازات عبر Azure Monitor و Log Analytics
4. تعطيل OMI إذا لم تكن مطلوبة: systemctl disable omid
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة عملية /opt/omi/bin/omi التي تعمل بامتيازات مرتفعة
2. التنبيه على أوامر sudo/su غير المتوقعة من حساب مستخدم omi
3. تتبع التعديلات على ملفات التكوين /opt/omi/etc/
4. مراقبة فشل مصادقة OMI متبوعة بمحاولات تصعيد الامتيازات
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
A.5.1.1 - Information security policies and procedures
A.6.1.1 - Access control policy
A.6.2.1 - User registration and de-registration
A.8.2.1 - User endpoint devices
A.8.3.1 - Information and other assets
A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
🔵 SAMA CSF
Governance (GV) - GV.RO-01 Cybersecurity roles and responsibilities
Protect (PR) - PR.AC-01 Identities and credentials
Protect (PR) - PR.PT-01 Audit and accountability
Detect (DE) - DE.CM-01 Asset management
Respond (RS) - RS.RP-01 Response planning
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.5.1 - Management direction for information security
A.6.1 - Internal organization
A.6.2 - Mobile device and teleworking
A.8.1 - User endpoint devices
A.12.6 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
Requirement 6.2 - Security patches and updates
Requirement 11.2 - Vulnerability scanning
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Microsoft:Open Management Infrastructure (OMI)