CVE-2013-2214 in Nagios
Summary
by MITRE
status.cgi in Nagios 4.0 before 4.0 beta4 and 3.x before 3.5.1 does not properly restrict access to certain users that are a contact for a service, which allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information about hostnames via the servicegroup (1) overview, (2) summary, or (3) grid style in status.cgi. NOTE: this behavior is by design in most 3.x versions, but the upstream vendor "decided to change it for Nagios 4" and 3.5.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2214 affects Nagios monitoring software versions 4.0 before 4.0 beta4 and 3.x before 3.5.1, specifically within the status.cgi component. This flaw represents a critical access control weakness that undermines the security model of the monitoring system by allowing unauthorized information disclosure. The vulnerability manifests when authenticated users who are designated as contacts for specific services can exploit the status.cgi interface to access sensitive host information that should be restricted to authorized personnel only. The issue stems from improper access restrictions within the servicegroup overview functionality, affecting three distinct display styles: overview, summary, and grid. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates a failure in the authorization mechanisms that should protect sensitive operational data within enterprise monitoring environments.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the status.cgi script's handling of servicegroup display requests where the application fails to properly validate user permissions against the specific hosts and services they are authorized to view. When users with contact roles request servicegroup information through the affected display modes, the system does not adequately verify whether these users possess the necessary clearance to access the underlying host information. This misconfiguration creates an information disclosure channel that allows attackers to enumerate hostnames and potentially gather intelligence about the monitored infrastructure. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-284, which specifically addresses improper access control, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1083 for discovering system information. The root cause is a lack of proper privilege checking during servicegroup view operations, where the system assumes that contact users should have broader access than intended.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with valuable reconnaissance data that could be used to plan more sophisticated attacks against the monitored infrastructure. An attacker with access to the Nagios system can map the entire monitored network topology by leveraging their contact role privileges to discover hostnames that might otherwise be hidden from their view. This information can be particularly dangerous in environments where the monitoring system serves as a central point of visibility for operational security. The vulnerability is especially concerning in enterprise environments where Nagios is used to monitor critical infrastructure, as it could expose sensitive system information to unauthorized personnel who should not have access to such detailed operational data. The issue represents a significant reduction in the security posture of the monitoring infrastructure and could potentially enable further attacks through information gathering.
The vendor addressed this vulnerability by implementing stricter access controls in Nagios 3.5.1 and the 4.0 beta4 release, effectively changing the default behavior from allowing unauthorized access to properly restricting it. Organizations should immediately upgrade to versions 3.5.1 or 4.0 beta4 to remediate this vulnerability. System administrators should also review existing user permissions and roles to ensure that contact users are properly constrained to only access information relevant to their specific responsibilities. Additional mitigations include implementing network segmentation to limit access to the Nagios web interface, enabling strong authentication mechanisms, and conducting regular audits of user access rights. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper access control implementation in security-critical applications and serves as a reminder of the need for continuous security assessment of monitoring and management systems. Organizations should also consider implementing additional logging and monitoring around access to sensitive system information to detect potential exploitation attempts.