CVE-2022-20871 - Command Injection and Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Cisco Secure Web Appliance (formerly Cisco Web Security Appliance)

A critical vulnerability (CVE-2022-20871) has been discovered in the web management interface of Cisco AsyncOS for Cisco Secure Web Appliance (formerly known as Cisco Web Security Appliance - WSA). This vulnerability could potentially allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute a command injection and elevate their privileges to root.

Vulnerability Details

The vulnerability exists due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input for the web interface. If exploited, an attacker with at least read-only access credentials for the system could send a specially crafted HTTP packet to the affected device, resulting in arbitrary command execution and escalated privileges to root.

Here's a code snippet example that demonstrates the issue

POST /web-management-interface/vulnerable-endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Authorization: Basic EXAMPLE_AUTHENTICATION_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Content-Length: [LENGTH]

parameter=valid-input;malicious-command

To successfully exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would require at least read-only credentials for the affected device.

Original References and Resources

1. Cisco Security Advisory
2. CVE-2022-20871
3. Cisco Secure Product Renaming

Solution and Workarounds

Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. Administrators are advised to download and apply the necessary updates from the Cisco website to mitigate the risk associated with this vulnerability. It's important to note that there are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-20871 represents a significant threat to organizations utilizing Cisco Secure Web Appliances for their network security. It is crucial for administrators to act promptly by updating their systems using the provided software patches to prevent potential attackers from exploiting this vulnerability and gaining unauthorized access to sensitive information. Regularly auditing and updating software is essential to maintaining a secure and up-to-date network environment.

Timeline

Published on: 11/15/2024 15:27:14 UTC