CVE-2012-1514 in vShield Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in VMware vShield Manager (vSM) 1.0.1 before Update 2 and 4.1.0 before Update 2 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/22/2021
The CVE-2012-1514 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in VMware vShield Manager versions 1.0.1 prior to Update 2 and 4.1.0 prior to Update 2. This vulnerability resides within VMware's network security platform designed to protect virtualized environments, specifically targeting the authentication mechanisms of the vShield Manager interface. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions by tricking users into executing unintended actions through malicious web requests, effectively bypassing the intended authentication controls. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery conditions in web applications, demonstrating how improper session management can lead to unauthorized access and privilege escalation within enterprise security infrastructure.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens or validation mechanisms within the vShield Manager's web interface requests. When authenticated users navigate to malicious sites or click on crafted links, the vShield Manager processes these requests without sufficient verification of the originating source, allowing attackers to perform actions on behalf of legitimate users. This flaw operates at the application layer of the OSI model and exploits the trust relationship between the web application and the user's browser, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where administrative privileges are involved. The vulnerability's impact is amplified by the fact that vShield Manager serves as a critical security component managing network policies and access controls for virtualized infrastructure, making successful exploitation potentially catastrophic for organizational security posture.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-1514 extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass complete compromise of the vShield Manager administrative functions. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to modify network security policies, create unauthorized access rules, disable security features, or even escalate privileges within the virtualized environment. This vulnerability directly maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for initial access through social engineering and T1078 for valid accounts usage, as attackers can hijack existing user sessions without needing to obtain credentials through traditional means. The implications for enterprise security are severe since vShield Manager administrators typically possess elevated privileges that control network access and security policies, making successful exploitation equivalent to gaining administrative control over the protected virtual infrastructure.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the available patches from VMware that address the CSRF implementation flaws in vShield Manager versions 1.0.1 and 4.1.0. The recommended remediation strategy involves upgrading to the patched versions of vShield Manager, specifically Update 2 for both affected versions, which introduces proper anti-forgery token validation and session management controls. Network administrators should also implement additional security measures such as restricting access to the vShield Manager interface through firewalls, implementing multi-factor authentication, and monitoring for suspicious administrative activities. The vulnerability serves as a prime example of why proper input validation and session management are critical components of secure application design, particularly for security tools that handle privileged operations. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their virtualized environments to identify other potential CSRF vulnerabilities in similar security appliances and ensure that all administrative interfaces implement robust anti-forgery protections as mandated by security standards and best practices.