CVE-2015-3317 in Management Agent
Summary
by MITRE
CA Common Services, as used in CA Client Automation r12.5 SP01, r12.8, and r12.9; CA Network and Systems Management r11.0, r11.1, and r11.2; CA NSM Job Management Option r11.0, r11.1, and r11.2; CA Universal Job Management Agent; CA Virtual Assurance for Infrastructure Managers (aka SystemEDGE) 12.6, 12.7, 12.8, and 12.9; and CA Workload Automation AE r11, r11.3, r11.3.5, and r11.3.6 on UNIX, does not properly perform bounds checking, which allows local users to gain privileges via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/21/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-3317 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within CA Common Services, a foundational component across multiple CA software products including Client Automation, Network and Systems Management, and Workload Automation solutions. This issue affects various versions of these enterprise management platforms running on UNIX operating systems, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on these tools for critical infrastructure management. The vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking mechanisms that fail to validate input parameters before processing them, allowing malicious local users to exploit this weakness for unauthorized privilege elevation.
The technical flaw manifests through unspecified vectors that leverage the absence of proper input validation and bounds checking within the CA Common Services framework. This type of vulnerability typically falls under CWE-129, which specifically addresses insufficient bounds checking, and can be categorized as a privilege escalation vulnerability within the ATT&CK framework under T1068 - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation. The lack of proper input validation creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory structures or execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, potentially allowing them to gain system-level access to the underlying UNIX infrastructure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it affects the core management capabilities of enterprise infrastructure tools that organizations depend upon for automated operations and system monitoring. Local users who can exploit this vulnerability may gain unauthorized access to sensitive system resources, potentially compromising the integrity of automated workflows, system configurations, and operational data managed by these CA products. Organizations using affected versions of CA Client Automation, Network and Systems Management, or Workload Automation AE could face severe operational disruptions if attackers successfully exploit this flaw to gain elevated privileges within their managed environments.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-3317 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems with the vendor-provided security updates, while also implementing additional security controls to reduce the attack surface. Organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of affected CA products across their infrastructure and establish monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts. The implementation of principle of least privilege access controls, along with regular security audits of system configurations, can help minimize the impact of such vulnerabilities. Additionally, system hardening measures including disabling unnecessary services, implementing proper user access controls, and maintaining detailed logging of system activities can provide defense-in-depth strategies that complement the vendor patches and reduce the overall risk exposure from this privilege escalation vulnerability.