CVE-2018-1014 in SharePoint Enterprise Server
Summary
by MITRE
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Microsoft SharePoint Server does not properly sanitize a specially crafted web request to an affected SharePoint server, aka "Microsoft SharePoint Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Microsoft SharePoint. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2018-1005, CVE-2018-1032, CVE-2018-1034.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/09/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1014 represents a critical elevation of privilege flaw within Microsoft SharePoint Server that stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms. This weakness allows malicious actors to craft specially formatted web requests that bypass the server's security controls, potentially enabling unauthorized access to elevated system privileges. The vulnerability specifically affects Microsoft SharePoint Server installations and demonstrates how insufficient sanitization of user-supplied input can lead to severe security implications within enterprise collaboration platforms.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of web requests within SharePoint Server's processing pipeline. When the server receives crafted HTTP requests containing maliciously formatted parameters or headers, it fails to adequately sanitize these inputs before processing them within the application context. This inadequate sanitization creates a pathway for attackers to exploit the system's trust model and escalate their privileges from standard user access to administrative or system-level permissions. The flaw operates at the application layer where web request parsing and validation should occur, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through standard web browser interactions without requiring specialized tools or advanced technical knowledge.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations relying on SharePoint Server for document management, collaboration, and enterprise content services. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to sensitive corporate data, modify or delete critical files, manipulate user permissions, and potentially establish persistent access within the network. The impact extends beyond immediate data compromise as the elevated privileges could enable lateral movement attacks, privilege escalation to domain administrator accounts, and comprehensive system control. Organizations with extensive SharePoint deployments face heightened risk due to the widespread use of these platforms in enterprise environments.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which addresses "Improper Input Validation" as a fundamental weakness in software design that leads to various security issues including privilege escalation. The attack pattern follows common exploitation techniques described in MITRE ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation tactics, specifically targeting application-level vulnerabilities to gain elevated system access. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying Microsoft security patches, implementing web application firewalls, and monitoring for suspicious web request patterns. Additionally, network segmentation and principle of least privilege access controls can help limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts while maintaining operational security posture against similar vulnerabilities in the SharePoint ecosystem.