CVE-2013-0284 in Ruby agent
Summary
by MITRE
Ruby agent 3.2.0 through 3.5.2 serializes sensitive data when communicating with servers operated by New Relic, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information (database credentials and SQL statements) by sniffing the network and deserializing the data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/18/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-0284 affects the New Relic Ruby agent versions 3.2.0 through 3.5.2, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that undermines the security of distributed application monitoring systems. This vulnerability stems from improper handling of sensitive data during network communication between the Ruby application and New Relic's monitoring servers, creating a pathway for man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise database credentials and SQL statements through simple network sniffing operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the Ruby agent's serialization process, where sensitive information is transmitted without adequate encryption or obfuscation mechanisms. When the agent communicates with New Relic servers, it serializes database connection details and executed SQL queries into data structures that are then transmitted over the network. This serialization occurs without proper security measures such as transport layer encryption or data masking, making the serialized payloads susceptible to interception by unauthorized network actors. The flaw directly maps to CWE-312 (CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) and CWE-319 (CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information) classifications, as both the storage and transmission of sensitive data occur in plaintext formats.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential theft, as attackers who successfully intercept the serialized data can gain comprehensive insights into the target application's database operations and underlying infrastructure. Database credentials obtained through this vulnerability can enable attackers to directly access and manipulate sensitive data within the database systems, while the exposure of SQL statements provides attackers with detailed information about the application's data access patterns and potential vulnerabilities in query construction. This information can be leveraged for further attacks including SQL injection exploitation, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation within the database environment, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in production environments where sensitive customer data is processed.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately upgrade their New Relic Ruby agent installations to versions 3.5.3 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the serialization flaw. Security teams should implement network monitoring to detect potential interception attempts and consider deploying additional encryption layers for any data transmission that occurs outside of the primary application environment. The mitigation strategy should also include reviewing and strengthening network security controls, implementing proper network segmentation, and ensuring that all communication channels between applications and monitoring services utilize encrypted transport protocols such as TLS 1.2 or higher. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices in monitoring and instrumentation tools, as these components often operate with elevated privileges and have access to sensitive application data. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) and T1566 (Phishing) as attackers may use the exposed credentials for further reconnaissance and lateral movement within compromised environments, highlighting the cascading security implications of such information disclosure vulnerabilities.