CVE-2015-8986 in Advanced Threat Defense
Summary
by MITRE
Sandbox detection evasion vulnerability in hardware appliances in McAfee (now Intel Security) Advanced Threat Defense (MATD) 3.4.2.32 and earlier allows attackers to detect the sandbox environment, then bypass proper malware detection resulting in failure to detect a malware file (false-negative) via specially crafted malware.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/06/2020
The CVE-2015-8986 vulnerability represents a critical sandbox detection evasion flaw within McAfee's Advanced Threat Defense platform, specifically affecting version 3.4.2.32 and earlier implementations. This vulnerability resides in the hardware appliance components of the MATD system, which is designed to provide advanced threat detection capabilities through sandboxing techniques. The flaw allows malicious actors to identify when their malware is executing within a sandboxed environment, enabling them to modify their behavior and evade detection mechanisms that would otherwise identify malicious activity.
This technical vulnerability stems from insufficient sandbox environment detection controls within the MATD platform's hardware appliances. The flaw enables attackers to perform environmental reconnaissance that reveals the presence of sandboxing mechanisms, effectively compromising the platform's ability to accurately identify and analyze potentially malicious files. The vulnerability specifically affects the detection capabilities of the Advanced Threat Defense system, which relies on proper sandbox execution to identify advanced persistent threats and zero-day malware variants.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it creates a false-negative scenario where malware that would normally be detected and analyzed by the sandboxing system remains undetected. Attackers can craft malware specifically designed to detect the sandbox environment and then modify their malicious behavior accordingly, effectively bypassing the security controls that the MATD platform is designed to provide. This failure to detect malware represents a critical gap in the security posture of organizations relying on this threat detection system, potentially allowing sophisticated malware to remain undetected for extended periods.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-254, which addresses security weaknesses related to improper sandboxing and environment detection mechanisms, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for sandbox evasion and T1070.004 for indicator removal. Organizations utilizing MATD 3.4.2.32 or earlier versions face elevated risk of advanced malware bypassing their threat detection capabilities, potentially leading to successful attacks that could compromise sensitive data and system integrity. The flaw demonstrates the critical importance of proper sandbox environment isolation and detection controls in advanced threat defense systems.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate upgrading to MATD versions 3.4.3.0 or later, which contain fixes for this vulnerability. Organizations should also implement additional network-based detection measures and consider deploying multiple layers of security controls to compensate for potential sandbox evasion techniques. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify potential exploitation attempts, while security teams should monitor for indicators of compromise that might suggest the presence of malware utilizing sandbox evasion techniques. The vulnerability underscores the necessity of maintaining up-to-date security solutions and the importance of comprehensive threat detection strategies that account for evolving evasion techniques.