CVE-2017-0933 in EdgeOS
Summary
by MITRE
Ubiquiti Networks EdgeOS version 1.9.1 and prior suffer from a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability. An attacker with access to an operator (read-only) account could lure an admin (root) user to access the attacker-controlled page, allowing the attacker to gain admin privileges in the system.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/15/2020
The CVE-2017-0933 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Ubiquiti Networks EdgeOS firmware versions 1.9.1 and earlier. This vulnerability fundamentally undermines the security model of the network operating system by exploiting the trust relationship between users and the web-based administrative interface. The flaw allows an attacker with access to a read-only operator account to manipulate the authentication and authorization mechanisms through carefully crafted malicious web pages. The vulnerability specifically targets the lack of proper CSRF token validation in the web application's administrative functions, creating a pathway for privilege escalation attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF measures in the EdgeOS web interface. When an administrator with root privileges accesses a malicious page, the attacker can construct requests that automatically execute administrative functions without the administrator's knowledge or explicit consent. This occurs because the web application fails to validate the origin of requests or verify that they originate from legitimate administrative sessions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it leverages the administrator's existing session and trust relationship with the system, making it difficult to detect through conventional security monitoring approaches. The flaw essentially allows an unprivileged user to perform authenticated actions on behalf of an administrator, effectively bypassing the normal access control mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete system compromise. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can gain full administrative control over the EdgeOS device, potentially leading to network infiltration, data exfiltration, or disruption of network services. The attack vector requires social engineering to lure the administrator to visit a malicious page, but once successful, the consequences are severe and immediate. Organizations using affected EdgeOS versions face significant risk, as the vulnerability can be exploited from external networks and does not require any special network access privileges beyond the ability to deliver the malicious payload. This makes the vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors seeking to compromise network infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-0933 focus primarily on upgrading to unaffected firmware versions where Ubiquiti has implemented proper CSRF protection mechanisms. Organizations should immediately deploy firmware updates to EdgeOS 1.9.2 and later versions, which contain the necessary security patches to address the vulnerability. Network administrators should also implement additional security controls such as restricting administrative access to trusted networks, implementing network segmentation, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and prevent malicious requests. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which categorizes cross-site request forgery as a fundamental web application security weakness, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566 for phishing attacks. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual administrative activities and anomalous request patterns that might indicate CSRF attack attempts. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other network management interfaces and ensure comprehensive patch management processes are in place to prevent similar incidents.