CVE-2001-1550 in Smart Connect
Summary
by MITRE
CentraOne 5.2 and Centra ASP with basic authentication enabled creates world-writable base64 encoded log files, which allows local users to obtain cleartext passwords from decoded log files and impersonate users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/11/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2001-1550 represents a critical security flaw in CentraOne 5.2 and Centra ASP systems that utilize basic authentication mechanisms. This issue stems from improper file permissions and logging practices that create exploitable conditions within the application's security architecture. The vulnerability specifically affects systems where basic authentication is enabled, making it particularly relevant to legacy web applications that have not been properly updated or secured against known attack vectors.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the creation of log files with world-writable permissions, which is a fundamental misconfiguration in file system security. These log files are base64 encoded, but the world-writable permission settings allow any local user to modify or read these files. When combined with the base64 encoding process, this creates a scenario where malicious actors can decode the log files to obtain cleartext passwords that were previously protected through encoding. The vulnerability manifests through the improper handling of file permissions during log file creation, which violates basic security principles of least privilege and proper access control.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables local privilege escalation and credential theft within the affected systems. Attackers can leverage this weakness to gain unauthorized access to user accounts by simply reading the decoded password information from the world-writable log files. This represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and provides attackers with legitimate credentials that can be used for further system compromise. The vulnerability essentially undermines the authentication mechanism that was designed to protect user access, creating a backdoor that bypasses normal security controls. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-732, which addresses inadequate permissions for critical resources, and falls under the ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering and system exploitation.
The security implications extend beyond simple password theft, as these compromised credentials can be used to escalate privileges, access sensitive data, and potentially move laterally within network environments. The vulnerability affects systems that have not implemented proper logging security measures and demonstrates the importance of secure file handling practices in application development. Organizations with affected systems face potential data breaches, unauthorized access to user accounts, and possible compliance violations due to the exposure of sensitive authentication information. The vulnerability also highlights the need for regular security assessments and proper configuration management to prevent such issues from persisting in production environments.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper file permission controls, ensuring that log files are created with restrictive permissions that prevent unauthorized access. System administrators should immediately correct the file permission settings to prevent world-writable access to log files, and consider implementing more secure logging mechanisms that do not store sensitive information in easily accessible formats. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security audits to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications and systems, while implementing proper monitoring and alerting mechanisms to detect unauthorized access attempts to log files. The remediation process should include updating the application to properly handle file permissions and logging, as well as implementing principle of least privilege controls for all system resources.