Understanding CVE-2023-25554: A Deep Dive into the CWE-78 OS Command Injection Vulnerability Impacting StruxureWare Data Center Expert

CVE-2023-25554 has been assigned to a critical vulnerability that affects StruxureWare Data Center Expert, a popular data center management software, primarily due to an OS Command Injection flaw. This vulnerability, classified as CWE-78, is caused by the improper neutralization of special elements used in an operating system command. Essentially, this could result in a local privilege escalation on the StruxureWare Data Center Expert appliance when a bad actor manages to inject malicious commands into the system. It is crucial for users running StruxureWare Data Center Expert version 7.9.2 or prior to understand the exploit details and take necessary precautions to protect their systems.

As an example, a simple OS command injection could take place in the following code

String cmd = "ping " + ipAddress;
Runtime.getRuntime().exec(cmd);

In this case, if an attacker manipulates the ipAddress variable to something like "8.8.8.8; rm -rf /", they can potentially inject harmful OS commands.

Exploit Details

The CWE-78 vulnerability enables an attacker to elevate their privileges on the appliance, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data, system resources, or even full control over the affected systems. This can occur when the application fails to properly sanitize user input for special characters or commands.

To learn more about the CVE-2023-25554 vulnerability, you can refer to the following resources

1. CVE-2023-25554 Description: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-25554
2. CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/78.html

Affected Products and Mitigation

The vulnerability specifically impacts StruxureWare Data Center Expert (V7.9.2 and prior). To mitigate this issue, users should update to the latest version of StruxureWare Data Center Expert or apply any available patches from the software vendor. Additionally, it is essential to follow best practices for secure coding, including proper input validation and sanitization techniques.

Conclusion

CVE-2023-25554 highlights the importance of understanding and addressing the risk associated with OS Command Injection vulnerabilities, particularly in critical software like StruxureWare Data Center Expert. It is crucial for developers and users to take necessary precautions, such as input validation and applying relevant patches, to safeguard their systems from potential exploits.

Timeline

Published on: 04/18/2023 21:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 04/27/2023 18:00:00 UTC