CVE-2012-2605 in Network Sentry Appliance
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in the administrative interface in Bradford Network Sentry before 5.3.3 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) insert XSS sequences or (2) send messages to clients.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/10/2024
The CVE-2012-2605 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in the administrative interface of Bradford Network Sentry software versions prior to 5.3.3. This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration classification of CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The flaw exists within the administrative web interface of the network security solution, creating a significant attack surface that could be exploited by remote threat actors to gain unauthorized administrative control over the system.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate authenticated administrative sessions through carefully crafted malicious requests. When an administrator visits a compromised webpage or clicks on a malicious link, the attacker can execute unauthorized actions within the administrative context of the Network Sentry system. The vulnerability specifically enables two primary attack vectors: the insertion of cross-site scripting sequences that can persist within the application's interface and the ability to send arbitrary messages to connected clients within the network. These capabilities create a dangerous combination that could lead to both persistent malicious code execution and network-level message manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with the ability to manipulate the network security appliance's administrative functions. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability could potentially modify network configurations, inject malicious scripts that would execute in the context of other administrators, or send spoofed messages to network clients that could disrupt communications or facilitate further attacks. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to complete compromise of the network security infrastructure. The attack requires no special privileges to initiate, making it particularly dangerous as it can be executed through social engineering tactics such as phishing emails or compromised websites that lure administrators into visiting malicious content.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-2605 should focus on immediate software patching to version 5.3.3 or later, which addresses the CSRF implementation flaws in the administrative interface. Organizations should also implement additional security controls including the deployment of web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious administrative requests, implementation of proper CSRF tokens for all administrative operations, and enhanced monitoring of administrative session activities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper session management and authentication controls in network security appliances, as outlined in various cybersecurity frameworks including the MITRE ATT&CK framework where such vulnerabilities would be categorized under the privilege escalation and persistence tactics. Network administrators should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative access and regular security assessments to identify similar weaknesses in other network management interfaces.