CVE-2017-16607 in Enterprise Manager
Summary
by MITRE
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information on vulnerable installations of Netgain Enterprise Manager. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within heapdumps.jsp. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of a user-supplied string before using it to download heap memory dump. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to disclose sensitive information in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-4718.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/26/2019
This vulnerability represents a critical information disclosure flaw in Netgain Enterprise Manager that undermines the security posture of affected systems. The vulnerability exists within the heapdumps.jsp component, which is designed to handle heap memory dump requests. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied strings before processing them for heap memory retrieval operations. This represents a classic example of insufficient input validation that can lead to unauthorized data exposure, aligning with CWE-20 standards for improper input validation. The vulnerability's severity is amplified by the fact that no authentication is required to exploit it, making it accessible to any remote attacker without prior credentials or privileged access.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the heapdumps.jsp endpoint where user-provided data is directly used to construct memory dump requests without proper sanitization or validation. When an attacker sends malicious input to this endpoint, the application processes the unvalidated string and attempts to retrieve heap memory information, potentially exposing sensitive data such as database credentials, session tokens, application configuration details, or other confidential information stored in memory. This type of vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK technique T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) and T1005 (Data from Local System) as it enables attackers to extract sensitive information from the target system's memory. The vulnerability essentially allows attackers to perform unauthorized memory dumps that could contain critical system information, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where sensitive data is commonly stored in memory.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can serve as a foundational weakness that enables more sophisticated attacks. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to gain insights into the application's internal state, potentially identifying other attack vectors or system configurations that could be exploited in subsequent phases. The vulnerability's ability to operate without authentication makes it particularly dangerous for systems that are exposed to untrusted networks or internet-facing services. Organizations running vulnerable versions of Netgain Enterprise Manager face significant risk of data breaches, as the exposed memory dumps could contain sensitive information such as encrypted passwords, database connection strings, API keys, or other credentials that could be used to escalate privileges or gain further access to the network. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and access control mechanisms in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive data.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of affected systems, as the most effective solution involves applying vendor-provided security updates that address the input validation flaw in heapdumps.jsp. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable components to untrusted networks. Additional defensive measures include monitoring network traffic for suspicious requests to heapdumps.jsp endpoints, implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious input patterns, and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar validation flaws in other application components. The vulnerability highlights the necessity of following secure coding practices such as input sanitization, output encoding, and proper error handling to prevent similar issues. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls and regular security audits to ensure that sensitive endpoints are properly protected against unauthorized access attempts.