CVE-2014-9618 in Netsweeper
Summary
by MITRE
The Client Filter Admin portal in Netsweeper before 3.1.10, 4.0.x before 4.0.9, and 4.1.x before 4.1.2 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and subsequently create arbitrary profiles via a showdeny action to the default URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-9618 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw within the Netsweeper Client Filter Admin portal, affecting multiple versions including 3.1.9 and earlier, 4.0.8 and earlier, and 4.1.1 and earlier. This vulnerability stems from improper access control mechanisms that permit unauthorized remote attackers to circumvent the authentication process entirely. The flaw specifically manifests through a carefully crafted showdeny action directed at the default URL, which inadvertently grants attackers the ability to bypass the standard authentication workflow and gain administrative privileges.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits a design flaw in the portal's access control validation logic. When an attacker sends a showdeny action request to the default URL endpoint, the system fails to properly validate the user's authentication status before processing the request. This allows the attacker to execute administrative functions without providing valid credentials, effectively creating a backdoor into the system. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it enables attackers to create arbitrary profiles, which can be leveraged to establish persistent access or modify system configurations.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe threat to network security infrastructure deployed with Netsweeper. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can assume full administrative control over the Client Filter Admin portal, potentially gaining access to sensitive network filtering configurations, user activity monitoring data, and the ability to modify security policies. The creation of arbitrary profiles allows for the establishment of persistent access points that could remain undetected for extended periods, enabling long-term network surveillance or unauthorized access to restricted resources. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can result in complete compromise of the filtering infrastructure.
The vulnerability maps to CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for Valid Accounts and T1566 for Phishing, as attackers can leverage this flaw to gain initial access and then escalate privileges. Organizations using affected Netsweeper versions should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches, reviewing and restricting access to the default URL endpoints, implementing network segmentation to limit exposure, and conducting thorough security audits of the filtering infrastructure. Additionally, monitoring for unauthorized profile creation attempts and anomalous administrative activities should be enabled to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of proper access control implementation and regular security assessments of administrative interfaces to prevent unauthorized system compromise.