CVE-2013-7239 in memcached
Summary
by MITRE
memcached before 1.4.17 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication by sending an invalid request with SASL credentials, then sending another request with incorrect SASL credentials.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/31/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2013-7239 represents a significant authentication bypass flaw in memcached versions prior to 1.4.17. This issue affects the Secure Authentication and Authorization protocol implementation within the distributed memory caching system that is widely deployed across enterprise environments. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of SASL authentication sequences where the system fails to properly validate authentication state transitions between multiple requests.
The technical flaw manifests when an attacker sends an initial request containing invalid SASL credentials to the memcached server. Following this invalid authentication attempt, the attacker sends a second request with incorrect SASL credentials. Due to the flawed implementation, the memcached server incorrectly processes these sequential requests and grants access to the cache system without proper authentication. This behavior violates fundamental security principles and creates a pathway for unauthorized access to sensitive data stored in the cache.
This vulnerability has severe operational implications for organizations relying on memcached for caching services. The authentication bypass allows attackers to access, modify, or delete cached data without proper authorization, potentially leading to data exposure, service disruption, or even complete system compromise. The impact is particularly concerning in environments where memcached serves as a backend component for web applications, databases, or other critical systems where cached data may contain sensitive user information or application state data.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses improper authentication issues, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1110.003 for credential access through brute force or exploitation of weak authentication mechanisms. Organizations using affected memcached versions should prioritize immediate patching to address this vulnerability, as the attack vector requires minimal sophistication and can be automated. The fix implemented in version 1.4.17 properly validates authentication state across multiple requests and ensures that invalid authentication attempts properly terminate the session, preventing the bypass condition.
Security teams should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of memcached instances to untrusted networks, while monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments of caching infrastructure and proper configuration management practices are essential to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the system architecture.