📄 Description (English)
Apache CouchDB Insecure Default Initialization of Resource Vulnerability — Apache CouchDB contains an insecure default initialization of resource vulnerability which can allow an attacker to escalate to administrative privileges.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
Apache CouchDB CVE-2022-24706 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.0) allowing unauthenticated attackers to escalate privileges to administrative level through insecure default initialization. This affects all CouchDB instances with default configurations, particularly those exposed to untrusted networks. Immediate patching is essential as exploits are publicly available and the vulnerability requires minimal attacker sophistication.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 21, 2026 17:39
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
High impact on Saudi financial institutions (SAMA-regulated banks) using CouchDB for transaction processing or customer data storage. Government agencies (NCA, CITC) utilizing CouchDB for database infrastructure face critical risk. Healthcare sector (MOH facilities) storing patient records on CouchDB instances are vulnerable. Energy sector (ARAMCO, SEC) and telecommunications (STC, Mobily) using CouchDB for operational databases face administrative compromise. Any organization with internet-exposed CouchDB instances is at immediate risk of full database compromise and lateral movement.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking and Financial Services
Government and Public Administration
Healthcare
Energy and Utilities
Telecommunications
E-commerce
Education
Insurance
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application
T1078 - Valid Accounts
T1078.002 - Valid Accounts: Domain Accounts
T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
T1548.002 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Bypass User Account Control
T1087 - Account Discovery
T1530 - Data from Cloud Storage
T1537 - Transfer Data to Cloud Account
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
9.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all CouchDB instances in your environment (internal and cloud-hosted)
2. Check if instances are accessible from untrusted networks or internet-exposed
3. Implement network segmentation to restrict CouchDB access to authorized systems only
4. Enable authentication and change default credentials immediately
PATCHING:
1. Upgrade to Apache CouchDB 3.2.1 or later (3.1.1 for 3.1.x branch)
2. Test patches in non-production environment first
3. Apply patches during maintenance windows with rollback plans
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if patching delayed):
1. Disable remote access to CouchDB admin interface
2. Implement strict firewall rules allowing only authorized IPs
3. Deploy WAF rules blocking CouchDB admin endpoints from untrusted sources
4. Enable CouchDB authentication and enforce strong passwords
5. Monitor for suspicious admin API calls and privilege escalation attempts
DETECTION:
1. Monitor HTTP requests to /_utils, /_admin, and /_config endpoints
2. Alert on successful authentication to admin accounts from unexpected sources
3. Track database creation/modification by unauthorized users
4. Monitor for bulk document operations indicating data exfiltration
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع نسخ CouchDB في بيئتك (داخلية وفي السحابة)
2. التحقق من إمكانية الوصول إلى النسخ من الشبكات غير الموثوقة أو المكشوفة على الإنترنت
3. تطبيق تقسيم الشبكة لتقييد الوصول إلى CouchDB للأنظمة المصرح لها فقط
4. تفعيل المصادقة وتغيير بيانات الاعتماد الافتراضية فوراً
التصحيح:
1. الترقية إلى Apache CouchDB 3.2.1 أو أحدث (3.1.1 لفرع 3.1.x)
2. اختبار التصحيحات في بيئة غير الإنتاج أولاً
3. تطبيق التصحيحات خلال نوافذ الصيانة مع خطط الاسترجاع
الضوابط البديلة (إذا تأخر التصحيح):
1. تعطيل الوصول البعيد إلى واجهة إدارة CouchDB
2. تطبيق قواعد جدار الحماية الصارمة للسماح بعناوين IP المصرح لها فقط
3. نشر قواعد WAF لحجب نقاط نهاية إدارة CouchDB من المصادر غير الموثوقة
4. تفعيل مصادقة CouchDB وفرض كلمات مرور قوية
5. مراقبة استدعاءات API الإدارية المريبة ومحاولات تصعيد الامتيازات
الكشف:
1. مراقبة طلبات HTTP إلى نقاط النهاية /_utils و /_admin و /_config
2. تنبيهات عند المصادقة الناجحة لحسابات الإدارة من مصادر غير متوقعة
3. تتبع إنشاء/تعديل قاعدة البيانات من قبل مستخدمين غير مصرح لهم
4. مراقبة عمليات المستندات الضخمة التي تشير إلى تسرب البيانات
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Access Control Policies
ECC 2024 A.5.2.1 - User Registration and Access Rights Management
ECC 2024 A.5.3.1 - Management of Privileged Access Rights
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - User Access Management
ECC 2024 A.8.3.1 - Management of Privileged Access
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-1 - Asset Management
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control Policy
SAMA CSF PR.AC-4 - Access Rights Management
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Network Monitoring
SAMA CSF RS.MI-2 - Incident Response and Management
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 - Information Security Policies
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - User Access Management
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - Management of Privileged Access Rights
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.6 - Access Control for Special Privileged Rights
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.4 - Logging
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
PCI DSS 2.1 - Default Security Parameters
PCI DSS 2.2.4 - Configure System Security Parameters
PCI DSS 7.1 - Limit Access to System Components
PCI DSS 8.1 - Assign Unique ID to Each User
PCI DSS 8.2 - Ensure User Identity is Authenticated
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Apache:CouchDB