CVE ID: CVE-2026-22598
Affected Product: ManageIQ
Vulnerability Type: Denial of Service (DoS) via improper input validation
Severity: High
CVSS Score: 7.1
Attack Vector: Network (remote)
Privileges Required: Low (authenticated API access)
User Interaction: None
Impact: Platform outage, API/UI unresponsiveness, background worker exhaustion
Exploitability: Practical under real-world conditions
Exploit / PoC Availability: No public weaponized exploit released; educational proof-of-concept scenarios are feasible based on the flaw logic

Executive overview

A denial-of-service condition was identified in ManageIQ when malformed TimeProfile objects were created through the API. Due to insufficient validation of TimeProfile data, invalid or extreme values could be stored successfully. Once such a malformed TimeProfile existed, any workflow, report, or background task that relied on it could enter long-running or blocking operations. Over time, this behavior resulted in request timeouts, stalled background workers, and eventual loss of service availability across the ManageIQ platform.

The issue did not expose data, allow privilege escalation, or enable remote code execution. However, availability of the platform could be fully disrupted, which is considered a high-risk outcome in environments where ManageIQ is used for infrastructure operations and automation.

What went wrong

TimeProfiles in ManageIQ define allowed days, hours, and time zones used by reports, metrics collection, and capacity calculations. Internally, this data is repeatedly evaluated by API controllers, UI components, and background workers.

Due to missing strict validation:

• The profile structure could be stored in an invalid or unexpected format.
• Fields such as days or hours could be supplied as non-arrays, empty values, extremely large lists, or malformed data types.
• Invalid or non-existent time zone identifiers could be persisted.

When downstream code attempted to iterate over or compare these malformed values, execution paths were forced into inefficient loops, repeated conversions, or timeout-prone operations. Over time, worker queues became congested and API/UI response times degraded until the platform became effectively unavailable.

How exploitation could occur

The vulnerability could be abused using the following high-level sequence:

1. Authenticated access to the ManageIQ API is obtained (for example, via a compromised service account or misconfigured API permissions).
2. An API request is issued to create a TimeProfile with malformed or extreme values in the profile field.
3. The platform accepts and stores the object without rejecting the invalid structure.
4. Normal operations later reference the malformed TimeProfile (report generation, metrics rollups, UI rendering).
5. Background workers or API threads become blocked or excessively busy.
6. System resources are exhausted, leading to timeouts and service disruption.

No race conditions or timing precision are required, and exploitation does not depend on high traffic volume. Even a single malformed object can cause repeated failures once referenced.

Educational proof-of-concept

For learning and defensive testing purposes only, exploitation can be demonstrated by:

• Creating a TimeProfile where days or hours are provided as strings instead of arrays.
• Supplying excessively large arrays for hours (hundreds or thousands of entries).
• Using invalid time zone identifiers.

Such inputs are now rejected in patched versions, but in vulnerable versions they could be persisted and later cause system degradation.

No publicly released exploit frameworks or automated tools are known to exist for this vulnerability.

MITRE ATT&CK / CWE mapping

• CWE-20 – Improper Input Validation

Detection and monitoring guidance

Primary log sources

• ManageIQ application logs (Rails logs)
• ManageIQ API access logs
• Background worker logs
• Database audit logs for the time_profiles table
• Reverse proxy or load balancer logs in front of the API

Indicators of compromise or abuse

• API POST requests creating TimeProfiles with unusually large payload sizes
• Repeated API or UI timeouts shortly after TimeProfile creation
• Sudden increase in worker queue length or stuck workers
• Application errors referencing TimeProfile evaluation or time calculations
• TimeProfile records containing missing or malformed profile fields

Splunk detection rules

Rule 1 – Suspicious TimeProfile creation

index=manageiq sourcetype=manageiq:api
| search method=POST uri_path="/api/time_profiles"
| eval body_size=len(request_body)
| where body_size > 2000
| stats count by src_ip, user, body_size

Purpose:
Detects oversized or abnormal API requests attempting to create TimeProfiles.

Rule 2 – Malformed profile structure

index=manageiq sourcetype=manageiq:api
| search method=POST uri_path="/api/time_profiles"
| regex request_body="\"profile\""
| where NOT match(request_body, "\"days\"\\s*:\\s*\\[")
   OR NOT match(request_body, "\"hours\"\\s*:\\s*\\[")
| stats count by src_ip, user

Purpose:
Flags TimeProfile creations where required fields are not formatted as arrays.

Rule 3 – Post-creation platform instability

index=manageiq
| search ("timeout" OR "execution expired" OR "worker stalled")
| stats count by host, sourcetype
| where count > 10

Purpose:
Identifies downstream symptoms consistent with TimeProfile-based DoS behavior.

Rule 4 – Correlation rule (recommended)

Trigger an alert when:

• A TimeProfile is created and
• API latency or worker errors spike within 10 minutes

This correlation strongly indicates attempted or accidental exploitation.

Mitigation and remediation

• Upgrade immediately to a fixed ManageIQ release.
• Restrict API access to trusted administrative networks.
• Review existing TimeProfile records for malformed or extreme values.
• Apply input validation at API gateways or WAFs as a defense-in-depth measure.
• Monitor worker health and queue depth continuously.

Official patch / upgrade

• ManageIQ security advisory and fixed release:
  👉 https://github.com/ManageIQ/manageiq/security/advisories/GHSA-m832-x3g8-63j3

Upgrading to radjabov-2 or later fully resolves the issue. No configuration-only workaround is considered sufficient.

Final takeaway

This vulnerability represents a classic availability failure caused by insufficient validation of trusted-but-external input. While exploitation requires authenticated API access, the operational impact can be severe, particularly in environments where ManageIQ is central to infrastructure management. Prompt patching, access control tightening, and monitoring are strongly advised.