CVE-2013-7462 in SaaS Control Console
Summary
by MITRE
A directory traversal vulnerability in the web application in McAfee (now Intel Security) SaaS Control Console (SCC) Platform 6.14 before patch 1070, and 6.15 before patch 1076 allows unauthenticated users to view contents of arbitrary system files that did not have file system level read access restrictions via a null-byte injection exploit.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/06/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-7462 represents a critical directory traversal flaw within the McAfee SaaS Control Console Platform version 6.14 prior to patch 1070 and 6.15 prior to patch 1076. This security weakness stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the web application layer that processes user-supplied file paths. The flaw specifically manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize or validate file system paths that contain null-byte sequences, allowing attackers to manipulate file access requests through crafted input parameters. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and affects the platform's web interface components responsible for file retrieval and display operations.
The technical implementation of this directory traversal vulnerability leverages null-byte injection techniques to bypass normal file system access controls and path validation mechanisms. When unauthenticated users submit maliciously crafted requests containing null-byte sequences within file path parameters, the application processes these inputs without proper sanitization, enabling access to arbitrary system files that would normally be restricted. This weakness aligns with CWE-22 Directory Traversal and CWE-77 Path Traversal vulnerabilities, where improper input validation leads to unauthorized file system access. The vulnerability operates under the principle that null-byte injection can effectively terminate string processing operations within the application, allowing subsequent path components to be interpreted as legitimate file system references rather than malicious input.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with unauthorized access to sensitive system files that may contain configuration data, user credentials, application source code, or other confidential information. The unauthenticated nature of the exploit means that any remote attacker can leverage this vulnerability without requiring valid credentials or prior access to the system. This creates a significant risk for organizations using affected McAfee SaaS Control Console versions, as the vulnerability could potentially expose critical system components, application configuration files, or sensitive data stored within the application's file system. The lack of file system level read access restrictions in the vulnerable implementation means that attackers can access files regardless of their normal permission settings, effectively bypassing traditional access control mechanisms.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately apply the vendor-provided patches 1070 for version 6.14 and 1076 for version 6.15 of the McAfee SaaS Control Console Platform. The patching process should be conducted with proper testing to ensure no disruption to existing services while addressing the null-byte injection vulnerability. System administrators should also implement network-level controls and monitoring to detect anomalous file access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additional mitigations include implementing web application firewalls to filter suspicious input patterns, conducting thorough code reviews for similar input validation weaknesses, and establishing comprehensive monitoring for unauthorized file system access attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input sanitization and the potential consequences of inadequate validation of user-supplied data in web applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1083 for file and directory discovery. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls and regular security assessments to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in their application environments.