CVE-2017-3980 in McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator
Summary
by MITRE
A directory traversal vulnerability in the ePO Extension in McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) 5.9.0, 5.3.2, and 5.1.3 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to execute a command of their choice via an authenticated ePO session.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/30/2020
The directory traversal vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-3980 resides within the ePO Extension component of McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator versions 5.9.0, 5.3.2, and 5.1.3 and earlier. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that enables authenticated attackers to manipulate file path references and gain unauthorized access to sensitive system resources. The vulnerability specifically affects the extension mechanism that processes user requests within the ePO environment, creating an avenue for privilege escalation and arbitrary code execution.
This directory traversal flaw operates by allowing malicious users to manipulate input parameters that control file access operations within the ePO extension framework. When an authenticated user submits a request containing specially crafted directory traversal sequences, the system fails to properly validate or sanitize the input before processing file operations. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and improper path resolution mechanisms that permit attackers to navigate beyond the intended directory boundaries and access restricted system files or execute commands with elevated privileges. This issue directly aligns with CWE-22, which describes improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly known as path traversal or directory traversal attacks.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-3980 extends beyond simple unauthorized file access, as it provides attackers with the capability to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system. An authenticated attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, access sensitive configuration files, modify system settings, or potentially establish persistent access to the compromised ePO environment. The attack requires only a valid user account within the ePO system, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by insiders or compromised user credentials. This vulnerability undermines the integrity and confidentiality of the entire ePO infrastructure, potentially exposing critical endpoint protection policies and management configurations.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the official patches released by McAfee, which address the input validation issues within the ePO extension component. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit exposure of ePO servers to untrusted networks. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous file access patterns and command execution attempts within the ePO environment. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation and secure coding practices, particularly in enterprise management platforms that handle sensitive security configurations. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and execution through legitimate system processes, emphasizing the need for comprehensive security controls and regular vulnerability assessments to prevent exploitation of such critical flaws in enterprise security infrastructure.