CVE-2017-8976 in Moonshot Provisioning Manager Appliance
Summary
by MITRE
A Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Moonshot Provisioning Manager Appliance version v1.20 was found.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/04/2021
The CVE-2017-8976 vulnerability represents a critical remote code execution flaw discovered in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Moonshot Provisioning Manager Appliance version v1.20. This appliance serves as a centralized management solution for HP Moonshot infrastructure, enabling administrators to provision and manage large-scale server environments. The vulnerability specifically resides within the appliance's handling of user-supplied input, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute arbitrary code on the target system. The affected component likely processes configuration parameters or provisioning requests without adequate validation, allowing attackers to inject malicious payloads that can be interpreted and executed by the underlying system. This vulnerability fundamentally compromises the integrity and confidentiality of the provisioning environment, potentially enabling attackers to gain full control over the managed infrastructure.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms within the Moonshot Provisioning Manager's processing pipeline. Attackers can craft specially malformed requests or parameter values that bypass normal validation checks and are subsequently processed by the appliance's backend systems. This flaw aligns with CWE-74, which describes weaknesses in input validation that can lead to injection attacks, and potentially CWE-94, which covers improper control of generation of code. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require physical access or local credentials to exploit it, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments where the appliance may be exposed to untrusted networks. The attack surface extends to any administrative functions that accept user input, including but not limited to provisioning workflows, configuration updates, and system management interfaces.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-8976 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as successful exploitation can lead to complete system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive infrastructure. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the affected service, potentially allowing them to install backdoors, exfiltrate configuration data, or manipulate provisioning workflows to deploy malicious code across the entire Moonshot environment. This vulnerability directly impacts the security posture of enterprises relying on HP Moonshot infrastructure, as it undermines the trust model that these provisioning systems are designed to maintain. The potential for lateral movement within the network increases significantly, as compromised provisioning managers can be used as launch points for attacks against other systems within the same administrative domain. Organizations may also face compliance violations and regulatory penalties if sensitive data is accessed or modified through this attack vector.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-8976 should prioritize immediate patching of affected appliances to the latest firmware versions released by HP. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to the provisioning manager appliance, restricting it to trusted administrative networks and implementing strict access controls. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by limiting administrative access to only authorized personnel and implementing multi-factor authentication for all administrative accounts. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect anomalous patterns in provisioning requests that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular vulnerability assessments of their HP Moonshot infrastructure and maintain up-to-date inventory of all managed appliances to ensure comprehensive coverage of security updates. The vulnerability's classification as a remote code execution flaw places it within ATT&CK technique T1203, which describes exploitation of remote services, and T1059, covering command and scripting interpreters, making it a high-priority target for both defensive and offensive security teams.