CVE-2015-2878 in HawkEye
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in Hexis HawkEye G 3.0.1.4912 allow remote attackers to hijack the authentication of administrators for requests that (1) add arbitrary accounts via the name parameter to interface/rest/accounts/json; turn off the (2) Url matching, (3) DNS Inject, or (4) IP Redirect Sensor in a request to interface/rest/dpi/setEnabled/1; or (5) perform whitelisting of malware MD5 hash IDs via the id parameter to interface/rest/md5-threats/whitelist.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/28/2024
The CVE-2015-2878 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting Hexis HawkEye G version 3.0.1.4912, demonstrating a fundamental failure in authentication and session management controls within the web application interface. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the RESTful API endpoints that manage administrative functions, creating a pathway for remote attackers to execute unauthorized administrative actions without proper authentication. The flaw stems from the absence of proper CSRF token validation mechanisms in multiple critical administrative endpoints, allowing malicious actors to craft specially crafted requests that leverage existing administrator sessions to perform privileged operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the lack of anti-CSRF protections in five distinct API endpoints that handle sensitive administrative functions. The first vulnerable endpoint accepts arbitrary account creation through the name parameter in the interface/rest/accounts/json path, enabling attackers to add new administrative users without proper authorization. The second vulnerability targets the interface/rest/dpi/setEnabled/1 endpoint where attackers can disable critical security sensors by manipulating the URL matching, DNS injection, or IP redirect functionality. The third vulnerable endpoint allows modification of malware threat management through the interface/rest/md5-threats/whitelist path, enabling attackers to whitelist malicious files that would otherwise be blocked by the system.
This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-352, Cross-Site Request Forgery, and represents a significant operational risk as it allows attackers to gain persistent administrative access to the security appliance. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as the compromised system could be used to disable critical security monitoring capabilities, introduce backdoors, or manipulate threat detection rules to evade detection. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to completely subvert the security posture of the organization by disabling essential sensors while simultaneously adding unauthorized accounts to maintain persistent access. The attack vector requires only a simple web request manipulation and does not require any special privileges or complex exploitation techniques, making it particularly dangerous for organizations using this security appliance.
The operational implications of this vulnerability are severe as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the security appliance, effectively neutralizing the security controls that the device was designed to provide. Organizations relying on Hexis HawkEye G for network security monitoring and threat detection face the risk of complete compromise, as attackers can manipulate the system to bypass security controls, whitelist malware, and disable critical monitoring capabilities. The vulnerability also creates a persistent threat vector since newly created accounts can maintain access even after initial exploitation, allowing for long-term compromise of the security infrastructure. Mitigation strategies should include immediate implementation of CSRF token validation across all administrative API endpoints, as well as network segmentation to limit access to these administrative interfaces. The vulnerability highlights the importance of applying security patches promptly and demonstrates how seemingly minor authentication flaws can result in complete system compromise, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring for unauthorized administrative activities and ensure that administrative interfaces are not directly exposed to untrusted networks.