CVE-2017-16141 in lab6drewfusbyu
Summary
by MITRE
lab6drewfusbyu is an http server. lab6drewfusbyu is vulnerable to a directory traversal issue, giving an attacker access to the filesystem by placing "../" in the url.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/16/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-16141 affects lab6drewfusbyu, an http server implementation that suffers from a critical directory traversal flaw. This issue stems from inadequate input validation within the server's path handling mechanism, allowing malicious actors to manipulate file access through carefully crafted url parameters. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input containing directory traversal sequences such as "../" which are commonly used to navigate up directory levels in file systems.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of url parameters to include directory traversal sequences that bypass normal file access controls. When an attacker submits a url containing "../" sequences, the http server processes these requests without proper validation, potentially allowing access to files outside the intended web root directory. This flaw directly maps to CWE-22, which describes improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly known as path traversal or directory traversal vulnerabilities. The vulnerability enables attackers to read arbitrary files on the server's file system, potentially exposing sensitive configuration files, source code, credentials, or other confidential data that should remain protected.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can lead to complete system compromise when combined with other exploitation techniques. An attacker who successfully exploits this directory traversal vulnerability can potentially access system configuration files, application source code, database files, or other sensitive resources that may contain authentication credentials, encryption keys, or business logic that could facilitate further attacks. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1083, which covers discovering file and directory permissions on compromised systems, and T1071.004, which covers application layer protocol: web protocols, as it exploits the web server's handling of file access requests. The implications become particularly severe in environments where the http server has elevated privileges or where sensitive data is stored in accessible locations within the file system structure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the http server's request processing pipeline. The most effective approach involves implementing strict path validation that rejects or normalizes any input containing directory traversal sequences, ensuring that all file access operations occur within predetermined safe directories. Organizations should also implement proper access controls and privilege separation to limit the damage potential of successful exploitation attempts. Additionally, the application should be configured to run with minimal required privileges, and regular security audits should be performed to identify similar path traversal vulnerabilities in other components. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect anomalous file access patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, while also ensuring that the http server is regularly updated with security patches and that proper security configurations are maintained according to industry best practices such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity frameworks.