OpenStack Keystone Allows Remote User Account Creation

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

8.7 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2012-3542: 2.50% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 84.72 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

OpenStack Keystone, as used in OpenStack Folsom before folsom-rc1 and OpenStack Essex (2012.1), allows remote attackers to add an arbitrary user to an arbitrary tenant via a request to update the user's default tenant to the administrative API. NOTE: this identifier was originally incorrectly assigned to an open redirect issue, but the correct identifier for that issue is CVE-2012-3540.

Published by the source

17 May 2022, 05:22 UTC

Last modified by the source

10 Sep 2026, 03:49 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:21 UTC

1. Revision 3 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-gf2q-j2qq-pjf2

2. Revision 2 · amended · 24 Oct 2026

   Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

3. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-gf2q-j2qq-pjf2

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2012-3542

Advisory: OpenStack Keystone Allows Remote User Account Creation
IDs: CVE-2012-3542, GHSA-gf2q-j2qq-pjf2
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2012-3542 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:21 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: keystone 2012.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI keystone: affected < 2012.1; fixed in 2012.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show keystone`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on keystone.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-gf2q-j2qq-pjf2 (OSV record GHSA-gf2q-j2qq-pjf2 lists affected ranges: PyPI keystone >=0 <2012.1 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-gf2q-j2qq-pjf2 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-gf2q-j2qq-pjf2 lists affected ranges: PyPI keystone >=0 <2012.1)

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