CVE-2022-20652: Cisco Tetration Command Injection Vulnerability - Impact, Exploitation, and Mitigation

CVE-2022-20652 is a critical vulnerability in the web-based management interface and API subsystem of Cisco Tetration, which could allow an authenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands with root-level privileges on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is a result of insufficient input validation, enabling attackers to exploit this by submitting a crafted HTTP message to the affected system.

In this long read post, we will explore the specific code snippet that demonstrates the issue, provide links to original references, and highlight exploit details, including mitigation steps that have been provided by Cisco.

Code Snippet

The following example demonstrates a simplified representation of the vulnerable code within Cisco Tetration:

def execute_command(user_input):
    cmd = "os-command %s" % user_input
    os.system(cmd)

def main():
    user_input = receive_http_message()
    execute_command(user_input)

In the example above, the code receives an HTTP message from a remote user and directly appends it to the "os-command" string without any input validation. This vulnerable code then uses the os.system() function to execute the crafted command, potentially leading to arbitrary command injection.

Exploit Details

An attacker can exploit CVE-2022-20652 by crafting an HTTP message that contains malicious input designed to inject commands into the vulnerable system. To successfully exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need valid administrator-level credentials for the Cisco Tetration system.

Suppose the attacker sends a crafted HTTP message like this

POST /vulnerable_endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.com

{"command": "; rm -rf /"}

In this case, if there are no proper validation measures, the crafted command parameter will lead to the execution of a potentially harmful command that could remotely delete all data within the target system.

Mitigation

Cisco has released software updates that address CVE-2022-20652, and it is strongly advised to apply the latest patches as soon as possible. Information about the relevant updates for Cisco Tetration can be found at Cisco Tetration Software Update Documentation.

It is important to note that there are no workarounds for addressing this vulnerability, hence applying the official patch is the only way to secure the system.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-20652 is a critical vulnerability in Cisco Tetration that permits authenticated remote attackers with administrative privileges to execute arbitrary commands with root-level access. By submitting a crafted HTTP message to the target system and exploiting insufficient input validation, the attacker can potentially compromise the system. The best course of action to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the latest software updates provided by Cisco, as there are no alternative workarounds available.

For further details about CVE-2022-20652, refer to these resources

- CVE-2022-20652 Official NVD Entry
- Cisco Security Advisory for CVE-2022-20652

Timeline

Published on: 11/15/2024 16:15:20 UTC