CVE-2014-8149 in defense4all
Summary
by MITRE
OpenDaylight defense4all 1.1.0 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to write report data to arbitrary files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/20/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-8149 affects OpenDaylight defense4all version 1.1.0 and earlier, representing a critical file system exposure that enables authenticated attackers to manipulate report data storage. This flaw resides within the application's handling of report generation and file writing operations, where insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms allow malicious users to specify arbitrary file paths for report data persistence. The vulnerability specifically targets the report writing functionality that is typically intended to store security assessments, network monitoring data, or diagnostic information within controlled directories.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper validation of user-supplied file paths during report generation processes. When authenticated users submit report requests, the system fails to properly sanitize or restrict the destination file paths, allowing attackers to inject malicious path specifications that can overwrite existing system files or create new files in unauthorized locations. This represents a classic path traversal vulnerability that violates the principle of least privilege and demonstrates inadequate input sanitization practices. The flaw is categorized under CWE-22, which specifically addresses path traversal vulnerabilities, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1074.001 for data staging through file system access.
Operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption, as it provides attackers with persistent access to modify critical system files and potentially establish backdoors within the network infrastructure. An authenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to overwrite configuration files, inject malicious content into report databases, or create unauthorized log entries that could obscure legitimate network activities. The implications are particularly severe in network security environments where defense4all serves as a monitoring and threat detection system, as it could enable attackers to manipulate security reports that are crucial for incident response and forensic analysis. The vulnerability essentially provides a mechanism for attackers to bypass normal file system permissions and gain unauthorized write access to arbitrary locations within the system's file hierarchy.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-8149 should focus on implementing robust input validation and access control mechanisms within the report generation subsystem. Organizations should immediately upgrade to versions of OpenDaylight defense4all that address this vulnerability, as the original affected versions are no longer supported and contain multiple other security flaws. System administrators must implement strict path validation that ensures report data can only be written to predetermined, secure directories with appropriate access controls. The solution involves enforcing a whitelist approach for valid file paths, implementing proper authentication and authorization checks, and regularly auditing file system access patterns to detect anomalous behavior. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring controls should be enhanced to detect unauthorized file system modifications and prevent attackers from leveraging this vulnerability to establish persistent access within the network infrastructure.