CVE-2014-0120 in Hawt.io
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the admin terminal in Hawt.io allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that run commands on the Karaf server, as demonstrated by running "shutdown -f."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/19/2023
The CVE-2014-0120 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw in the Hawt.io administrative interface that enables remote attackers to exploit authentication mechanisms for unauthorized command execution on Karaf servers. This vulnerability specifically targets the admin terminal component of Hawt.io, a monitoring and management tool for Apache Karaf application servers. The flaw allows attackers to craft malicious requests that appear to originate from authenticated users, effectively bypassing the authentication process and enabling arbitrary command execution with the privileges of the targeted user. The demonstrated attack vector involves executing the shutdown command with force parameter, which could result in service disruption and potential system compromise. This vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of request origins and missing anti-CSRF tokens in the administrative interface, creating a pathway for attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions and execute privileged operations without proper authorization.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the Hawt.io admin terminal. When users authenticate to the administrative interface, their session remains active and authenticated, but the system fails to validate that subsequent requests originate from legitimate sources. This weakness allows attackers to construct malicious web pages or send crafted HTTP requests that, when executed by authenticated users, perform actions on the Karaf server without the user's knowledge or consent. The vulnerability specifically affects the command execution functionality within the administrative interface, where requests to execute system commands bypass proper authorization checks. The lack of anti-CSRF tokens, which are essential for validating that requests are initiated by the legitimate user, creates a persistent security gap that remote attackers can exploit through social engineering or by tricking authenticated users into visiting malicious websites.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-0120 extends beyond simple unauthorized access to potentially catastrophic system compromise. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary commands on the targeted Karaf server, including critical operations such as shutdown, restart, or deployment of malicious components. The ability to run shutdown commands with force parameter could result in denial of service attacks that disrupt business-critical applications hosted on the server. Additionally, the vulnerability enables attackers to escalate privileges and potentially gain deeper access to the underlying system, as the administrative interface typically provides elevated permissions. This weakness affects organizations using Hawt.io for monitoring and managing Karaf-based applications, potentially exposing their entire application infrastructure to unauthorized manipulation. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through various attack vectors including phishing emails, malicious websites, or compromised web applications that users interact with regularly.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-0120 require immediate implementation of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the Hawt.io administrative interface. Organizations should ensure that all administrative requests include anti-CSRF tokens that are validated server-side to confirm request legitimacy. The implementation of proper origin validation checks and session management controls can prevent unauthorized command execution. Security patches should be applied promptly to address the vulnerability, and organizations should consider implementing network segmentation to limit access to the administrative interfaces. Regular security assessments should verify that CSRF protection mechanisms are properly configured and functioning. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities, and represents a common weakness in web application security frameworks. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and execution of malicious commands through compromised administrative interfaces, emphasizing the need for robust authentication and authorization controls in management interfaces. Organizations should also implement monitoring solutions to detect suspicious command execution patterns and establish incident response procedures for handling potential exploitation attempts.