CVE-2014-8523 in Network Data Loss Prevention
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in McAfee Network Data Loss Prevention (NDLP) before 9.3 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of unspecified victims via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/09/2017
The CVE-2014-8523 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within McAfee Network Data Loss Prevention version 9.2 and earlier releases. This vulnerability resides in the web-based administrative interface of the NDLP solution, which is designed to protect enterprise networks from data exfiltration attempts. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate authenticated sessions without requiring knowledge of valid credentials, effectively enabling unauthorized access to administrative functions. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it can potentially lead to complete system compromise and data loss prevention bypass. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple methods could be exploited, making the vulnerability particularly concerning for security professionals who must account for various attack surface possibilities.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-forgery token mechanisms within the NDLP web interface. When legitimate users interact with the administrative console, the system should verify that requests originate from authorized sources and contain valid session tokens. However, the vulnerable implementation fails to properly enforce these security controls, allowing malicious actors to craft specially crafted requests that appear legitimate to the server. This flaw aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities in web applications. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be exploited through various means including malicious web pages, email attachments, or compromised websites that trick users into performing unintended actions within the context of their authenticated NDLP session.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for organizations utilizing McAfee NDLP solutions, as it can result in complete administrative control being gained by unauthorized parties. Attackers could potentially modify security policies, disable protection mechanisms, create backdoors, or exfiltrate sensitive data through the compromised system. The vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where NDLP is deployed to monitor and control data flow across network boundaries, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to bypass data protection controls. Organizations may face regulatory compliance issues if sensitive data is compromised, and the attack could potentially go undetected for extended periods due to the subtle nature of CSRF attacks. The vulnerability also represents a significant risk to network security posture, as it allows attackers to operate within the trusted network environment without detection. This type of attack pattern is documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the technique T1566, which covers phishing and social engineering attacks that leverage web application vulnerabilities.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including applying the vendor-provided patches for McAfee NDLP version 9.3 and later releases, which address the CSRF implementation flaws. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to NDLP administrative interfaces to trusted networks only, while also ensuring that administrative interfaces are not directly exposed to untrusted networks. Multi-factor authentication should be enforced for administrative access where possible, and regular security audits should be conducted to identify any unauthorized changes to security policies. Additionally, web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems should be configured to monitor for suspicious patterns that may indicate CSRF attack attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and session management in web applications, and serves as a reminder that even enterprise security solutions can contain fundamental flaws that require immediate attention. Organizations should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect unauthorized access attempts and maintain comprehensive audit trails for security incident response activities.