Описание
Lemur user-update path stores plaintext passwords
Summary
lemur.users.service.update() writes a user's new password as plaintext to the users.password column. The User model wires bcrypt hashing to SQLAlchemy's before_insert event but registers no equivalent listener for before_update, and service.update() does not call user.hash_password() after assigning the new value. Every password change performed through the admin-gated PUT /api/1/users/<id> endpoint persists the user's password to the database in cleartext.
Root Cause
lemur/users/models.py:
lemur/users/service.py:
No before_update listener exists. User.password is a plain Column(String(128)) with no property setter that hashes on assignment. The bcrypt code path is bypassed entirely on every UPDATE statement that touches this column.
Affected Endpoints
| Method | Path | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PUT | /api/1/users/<id> | lemur/users/views.py:274 (gated by @admin_permission.require) |
lemur/auth/views.py:323 also calls user_service.update() during SSO/OAuth login, but passes only six positional arguments. password defaults to None on that path and the if password: guard short-circuits. The bug is triggered only through the admin-only PUT handler.
Impact
When an administrator changes a user's password via PUT /api/1/users/<id>, the cleartext password is persisted to users.password. Subsequent login attempts for that user will fail (check_password calls bcrypt.check_password_hash against an unhashed value), pushing operators toward workarounds.
The more serious consequence is a defense-in-depth bypass. Bcrypt is the protection that prevents a database compromise from yielding usable credentials. With plaintext rows present, an attacker who exfiltrates the users table, a backup, a read replica, or query logs obtains directly usable login credentials — no offline cracking required. Because users reuse passwords across services, the blast radius extends beyond Lemur.
The bug specifically affects admin-driven password resets, which are the normal post-incident workflow and exactly when plaintext storage is most harmful.
Steps to Reproduce
-
Install Lemur with default config. Create an admin user and a target user 'alice' (created via the standard flow, password will be hashed correctly on insert).
-
Verify the initial hash: psql lemur -c "SELECT password FROM users WHERE username='alice';"
Output: $2b$12$N9Q... (bcrypt hash, as expected)
-
As admin, change alice's password via the API: curl -X PUT https://lemur.local/api/1/users/<alice_id>
-H "Authorization: Bearer <admin_jwt>"
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-d '{ "username": "alice", "email": "alice@example.com", "active": true, "profile_picture": null, "roles": [{"name": "operator"}], "password": "ProofOfConcept_2026" }' -
Read the column again: psql lemur -c "SELECT password FROM users WHERE username='alice';"
Output: ProofOfConcept_2026 ← plaintext, not hashed
-
Confirm the failure mode: 'alice' can no longer log in with 'ProofOfConcept_2026' because check_password runs bcrypt.check_password_hash() against the cleartext column.
Remediation
Register the listener for both events:
Alternative, equivalent fix in the service layer:
The listener fix is preferred because it closes the gap for any future code path that mutates user.password.
A one-time migration is recommended to detect and re-hash any rows already stored in cleartext. Bcrypt hashes begin with $2b$, $2a$, or $2y$. Any cleartext credential should be treated as compromised — rotate it, do not just re-hash it — since it has been at rest in plaintext and may exist in backups, audit logs, and replicas.
Пакеты
lemur
<= 1.9.1
1.9.2
Связанные уязвимости
Lemur manages TLS certificate creation. Prior to 1.9.2, lemur.users.service.update assigned a replacement password directly to users.password, while lemur/users/models.py registered User.hash_password only for the before_insert event. Because no before_update listener ran, administrator-initiated password changes through PUT /api/1/users/ were committed as plaintext. The affected user could no longer authenticate normally because bcrypt verification received an unhashed value. A database, backup, replica, query-log, or administrative read compromise exposed immediately usable credentials without offline cracking. The fix registers hashing for before_update and avoids rehashing values that already have a bcrypt prefix. This issue is fixed in version 1.9.2.
Lemur manages TLS certificate creation. Prior to 1.9.2, lemur.users.se ...