CVE-2017-4055 in Advanced Threat Defense
Summary
by MITRE
Exploitation of Authentication vulnerability in the web interface in McAfee Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) 3.10, 3.8, 3.6, 3.4 allows remote unauthenticated users / remote attackers to bypass ATD detection via loose enforcement of authentication and authorization.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/01/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2017-4055 represents a critical authentication flaw within McAfee Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) web interface versions 3.10, 3.8, 3.6, and 3.4. This issue stems from loose enforcement of authentication and authorization mechanisms that allow remote unauthenticated users to bypass the system's security controls. The flaw exists in the web administration interface of the ATD platform, which is designed to protect against advanced cyber threats through sophisticated threat detection and analysis capabilities.
This authentication bypass vulnerability falls under the category of weak authentication mechanisms and represents a significant security weakness that directly violates fundamental cybersecurity principles. The loose enforcement of authentication allows attackers to access administrative functions without proper credentials, effectively undermining the entire security architecture of the ATD system. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the web interface that administrators use to configure and manage the threat detection capabilities, potentially allowing attackers to modify security policies, disable protections, or gain full administrative control over the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables remote attackers to completely circumvent the intended security controls of the McAfee ATD system. Attackers can exploit this weakness to perform unauthorized administrative actions including but not limited to modifying threat detection rules, accessing sensitive threat intelligence data, disabling security features, and potentially using the compromised system as a pivot point for further attacks within the network. The remote nature of the exploit means that attackers do not require physical access or local network presence to leverage this vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where ATD systems are deployed.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1078 for valid accounts and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation. The weakness demonstrates a failure in implementing proper access control mechanisms and represents a classic example of inadequate session management and authentication enforcement. Organizations using affected McAfee ATD versions face significant risk of compromise as this vulnerability effectively renders the security controls of the system ineffective against authenticated attacks. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation and access control implementation in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive security functions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching of affected McAfee ATD versions to the latest security releases that address the authentication enforcement issues. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to ATD web interfaces, deploy additional monitoring and logging for administrative access attempts, and consider implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative access where supported. Network administrators should also conduct thorough security assessments to identify any potential compromise and ensure that proper access controls are in place for all administrative interfaces. The vulnerability underscores the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing proper security monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts to critical security infrastructure.