CVE-2018-1234 in RSA Authentication Agent for Web
Summary
by MITRE
RSA Authentication Agent version 8.0.1 and earlier for Web for IIS is affected by a problem where access control list (ACL) permissions on a Windows Named Pipe were not sufficient to prevent access by unauthorized users. The attacker with local access to the system can exploit this vulnerability to read configuration properties for the authentication agent.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/24/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2018-1234 represents a critical access control flaw within the RSA Authentication Agent version 8.0.1 and earlier installations for IIS web environments. This issue specifically targets the Windows Named Pipe implementation used by the authentication agent, where insufficient access control list permissions were configured, creating a pathway for unauthorized system access. The vulnerability exists within the Windows security model where named pipes serve as inter-process communication mechanisms, and proper permission controls should prevent unauthorized access to sensitive system resources.
The technical flaw manifests through inadequate permission settings on Windows Named Pipes that are utilized by the RSA Authentication Agent for communication purposes. When ACL permissions are improperly configured, local attackers can exploit this weakness to gain access to configuration properties of the authentication agent. This represents a classic privilege escalation vulnerability where local system access translates into unauthorized access to sensitive authentication configuration data. The flaw stems from poor implementation of Windows security primitives where the named pipe security context does not properly restrict access based on user privileges or security contexts.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations relying on RSA Authentication Agent for their authentication infrastructure. An attacker with local access to a system running the vulnerable agent can extract sensitive configuration information that may include authentication parameters, server settings, and potentially credential storage details. This information could be leveraged to conduct further attacks including credential harvesting, authentication bypass attempts, or to understand the internal workings of the authentication system for more sophisticated exploitation. The vulnerability essentially provides a foothold for attackers to gather intelligence about the authentication infrastructure without requiring network-level access or complex exploitation techniques.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-276 which specifically addresses incorrect permissions for critical resources, and represents a failure in implementing proper least privilege principles for Windows named pipe security. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1068 (Local Privilege Escalation) and T1552 (Unsecured Credentials) where local access can be leveraged to extract sensitive information. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to RSA Authentication Agent versions that address this ACL configuration issue, reviewing and hardening named pipe permissions, and implementing additional monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to authentication agent resources. The fix typically involves proper configuration of named pipe security descriptors to ensure only authorized processes and users can access the authentication agent communication channels, thereby preventing unauthorized information disclosure through local system access.