A new vulnerability has been identified, which has been assigned the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifier CVE-2023-38419. This vulnerability is related to the iControl SOAP process that, if exploited, can cause the process to terminate, affecting the system's integrity and performance. In this post, we will discuss the exploit details, possible consequences, and the suggested mitigation techniques.

What is iControl SOAP?
iControl SOAP is an application programming interface (API) that allows developers to create, control, and manage the configuration objects on the system. It can manipulate the system's behavior and interact with various software modules using SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).

Exploit Details

The CVE-2023-38419 vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker with guest privileges or higher to cause the iControl SOAP process to terminate by sending undisclosed requests to the system. While the specifics of the exploit have not been disclosed to prevent malicious actors from misusing this information, this vulnerability has been confirmed and acknowledged by the security community.

A typical malicious request may look like the following code snippet

import requests
from requests.auth import HTTPBasicAuth

payload = """
<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">;
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <exp:trigger xmlns:exp="http://example.com/exploit">;
         <!-- exploit details -->
      </exp:trigger>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>
"""

response = requests.post('https://target-system.tld/iControlSOAP';, data=payload, auth=HTTPBasicAuth('guest', 'password'))

It should be noted that software versions that have reached their End of Technical Support (EoTS) phase were not evaluated for this vulnerability.

Possible Consequences

When the iControl SOAP process terminates due to this vulnerability, it can potentially impact the integrity and performance of the system's management API. This may further lead to denial of service (DoS) conditions, which can disrupt services and impede normal operations.

To protect against CVE-2023-38419, the following recommendations have been proposed

1. Update the software to the latest versions which include the necessary security patches. The software vendor typically provides updates, security fixes, and information on their official website ([link to the vendor's website]).

2. Implement the principle of least privilege in the system. Restrict user permissions to reduce the chances of unauthorized access exploiting this vulnerability. Only grant elevated privileges to trusted users on a need-to-know basis.

3. Vigilantly monitor and audit network activity to identify any unusual behavior or suspicious requests that may indicate an attempt to exploit the vulnerability. Regularly reviewing logs and implementing intrusion detection/prevention systems can help achieve this.

4. Incorporate strong authentication measures, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), to strengthen the security of the system.

Conclusion

CVE-2023-38419 is a concerning vulnerability that can cause the termination of the iControl SOAP process when exploited. Following the recommended mitigation techniques can help protect systems from the potential consequences of this security flaw. Always stay up-to-date on the latest security updates and best practices to maintain a robust security posture.

For more information on CVE-2023-38419, refer to the following resources

- Link to CVE details
- Link to vendor advisory
- Link to relevant forum discussion

Timeline

Published on: 08/02/2023 16:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 08/07/2023 20:09:00 UTC