CVE-2013-6346 in ZENworks Configuration Management
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the ZCC page in Novell ZENworks Configuration Management (ZCM) before 11.2.4 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of unspecified victims via unknown vectors.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/01/2021
The CVE-2013-6346 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in Novell ZENworks Configuration Management version 11.2.3 and earlier. This vulnerability specifically affects the ZCC (ZENworks Configuration Console) page within the ZCM framework, which serves as the primary administrative interface for managing enterprise IT configurations. The issue stems from insufficient validation mechanisms that fail to properly authenticate and verify the origin of requests submitted through the web interface, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system's trust relationships.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs when an authenticated user visits a malicious website or clicks on a crafted link that triggers unauthorized actions within the ZCM environment. The flaw lies in the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or other validation mechanisms that would normally ensure that requests originate from legitimate administrative sessions. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform unauthorized operations such as modifying system configurations, creating new user accounts, or executing administrative commands without proper authorization. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-352 indicates it falls squarely within the category of cross-site request forgery attacks, where the application fails to validate that requests are being made from the intended source rather than from an attacker-controlled domain.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it allows attackers to compromise the entire ZCM management infrastructure. Given that ZCM is designed to manage enterprise-wide IT configurations, successful exploitation could lead to complete administrative control over networked devices, user accounts, and system settings. The unspecified nature of victim targets suggests that any authenticated user session within the ZCM environment could be compromised, potentially affecting system administrators, IT personnel, or other authorized users who maintain administrative privileges. This creates a significant risk for organizations that rely heavily on ZCM for their configuration management and security policies, as attackers could potentially disrupt services, exfiltrate sensitive configuration data, or establish persistent access points within the enterprise network.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to ZENworks Configuration Management version 11.2.4 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the CSRF validation issues. Additional protective measures include implementing proper web application firewalls, deploying content security policies, and ensuring that administrative sessions utilize strong authentication mechanisms including multi-factor authentication. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence, as attackers could use the compromised administrative access to establish long-term control over the managed environment. The vulnerability also aligns with TTPs related to initial access and execution, as attackers would typically need to first gain access to a legitimate user session before exploiting the CSRF weakness, making user education and session management practices crucial defensive measures.