CVE-2014-2509 in Smarts Network Configuration Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Session fixation vulnerability in the Report Advisor (RA) component in EMC Network Configuration Manager (NCM) before 9.3 allows remote attackers to hijack web sessions via a session cookie.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/24/2022
The CVE-2014-2509 vulnerability represents a critical session fixation flaw within the Report Advisor component of EMC Network Configuration Manager version 9.2 and earlier. This vulnerability specifically targets the web application's session management mechanism, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit the authentication system. The issue stems from the application's failure to properly regenerate session identifiers upon successful authentication, leaving session cookies vulnerable to manipulation. Attackers can leverage this weakness by obtaining a valid session cookie and then forcing a victim to use the same session identifier, effectively hijacking their web session without requiring legitimate credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the Report Advisor component's session handling logic that does not adequately address session regeneration practices. When users authenticate to the EMC NCM web interface, the system should generate a new, unique session identifier to prevent session fixation attacks. However, the vulnerable version maintains the original session cookie value, allowing attackers to reuse session tokens that were obtained through legitimate means or by exploiting other vulnerabilities. This flaw directly violates security best practices outlined in owasp top ten and aligns with the common weakness enumeration CWE-384 category for session fixation vulnerabilities. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be exploited through standard web browser interactions, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no specialized tools beyond basic web exploitation techniques.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-2509 extends beyond simple session hijacking, potentially enabling attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive network configuration data and management functions within the EMC NCM environment. Organizations utilizing affected versions of Network Configuration Manager face significant risk of data breaches, unauthorized network modifications, and potential lateral movement within their infrastructure. The vulnerability can be particularly devastating in enterprise environments where network configuration management is critical for security operations and where unauthorized access to NCM could provide attackers with insights into network topology, device configurations, and potential attack vectors. Additionally, the session hijacking capability could allow attackers to maintain persistent access to the system and execute administrative commands without detection, making this vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-2509 should prioritize immediate patching of the EMC Network Configuration Manager to version 9.3 or later, which addresses the session fixation vulnerability through proper session regeneration mechanisms. Organizations should implement additional security controls including web application firewalls that can detect and block session fixation attempts, and ensure that session cookies are properly configured with secure attributes such as httponly and secure flags. Network segmentation and access controls should be reinforced to limit exposure of the affected component, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect anomalous session behavior. The remediation process should also include comprehensive security assessments of the web application to identify similar session management weaknesses and adherence to the mitre ATT&CK framework's application layer attack patterns. Organizations must also consider implementing multi-factor authentication mechanisms and regular security audits to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in other components of their network management infrastructure.