CVE-2017-20014 in INTEREST Security Scanner
Summary
by MITRE • 03/29/2022
** UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED ** A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in WEKA INTEREST Security Scanner up to 1.8. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the component Webspider. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to denial of service. Local access is required to approach this attack. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/06/2024
CVE-2017-20014 represents a denial of service vulnerability within WEKA INTEREST Security Scanner version 1.8 and earlier, specifically impacting the Webspider component functionality. This vulnerability classification aligns with CWE-400, which encompasses issues related to resource exhaustion and denial of service conditions that can be exploited through malformed inputs or unexpected behaviors in software components. The vulnerability requires local access for exploitation, indicating it operates as a local privilege escalation or local denial of service issue rather than a remote attack vector, which typically limits its scope but still presents significant operational risks within compromised environments.
The technical flaw manifests when the Webspider component processes unknown or malformed input data, causing the system to enter an unstable state that results in service disruption. This behavior suggests the software lacks proper input validation and error handling mechanisms within its web crawling and scanning processes. The vulnerability's classification as problematic indicates that it was not considered critical in the broader threat landscape but still represents a legitimate security concern that could be leveraged by attackers with local system access. The fact that this vulnerability has been publicly disclosed and is known to be exploitable means that threat actors could potentially leverage it to disrupt security operations or gain further system access.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-20014 extends beyond simple service disruption, particularly in security-critical environments where the WEKA INTEREST Security Scanner serves as a primary monitoring tool. When the Webspider component fails due to this vulnerability, it can result in complete scanning operations being halted, potentially leaving network infrastructure unmonitored for extended periods. This disruption directly conflicts with security best practices and can create gaps in threat detection that attackers might exploit. The vulnerability's requirement for local access means that it typically requires an attacker to already have compromised system credentials, but this access level still represents a significant risk in environments where insider threats or credential compromise is possible.
Organizations utilizing affected versions of WEKA INTEREST Security Scanner should immediately implement mitigations including updating to supported versions, implementing network segmentation to limit local access privileges, and deploying additional monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's status as a known public exploit means that defensive measures should include network-based detection signatures and behavioral monitoring to identify potential abuse of the denial of service condition. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be categorized under T1489, which covers denial of service attacks, and potentially T1068, which involves exploit for privilege escalation, depending on the specific attack scenario. Given that the software is no longer supported, the most effective mitigation strategy involves complete removal or replacement of the vulnerable component with a supported alternative that includes proper input validation and robust error handling mechanisms.