CVE-2018-1235 in RecoverPoint
Summary
by MITRE
Dell EMC RecoverPoint versions prior to 5.1.2 and RecoverPoint for VMs versions prior to 5.1.1.3, contain a command injection vulnerability. An unauthenticated remote attacker may potentially exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system with root privilege.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/01/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-1235 represents a critical command injection flaw within Dell EMC RecoverPoint software ecosystems, specifically affecting versions prior to 5.1.2 for RecoverPoint and 5.1.1.3 for RecoverPoint for VMs. This vulnerability resides in the authentication mechanisms and input validation processes of the recovery point system, which is designed to protect and manage data recovery operations across virtualized environments. The flaw allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to inject malicious commands into the system through improperly validated user inputs, potentially compromising the entire data protection infrastructure.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of input parameters within the web interface and API endpoints of the RecoverPoint software. When legitimate users or attackers submit commands or parameters to the system, the software fails to properly validate or escape these inputs before processing them. This weakness creates an environment where malicious payloads can be executed directly on the underlying operating system with root privileges, effectively granting attackers complete control over the affected systems. The vulnerability manifests particularly in the handling of administrative commands and configuration parameters that are processed without adequate security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple command execution, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and confidentiality of the entire data recovery infrastructure. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to sensitive backup data, modify recovery point configurations, disable protection mechanisms, or even establish persistent backdoors within the environment. The remote nature of the exploit means that attackers do not require physical access or valid credentials to perform the attack, making it particularly dangerous for organizations that rely on RecoverPoint for critical data protection operations. This vulnerability directly violates the principles of least privilege and input validation that are fundamental to secure system design.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates to versions 5.1.2 and 5.1.1.3 respectively, which address the input validation flaws through proper sanitization and escaping mechanisms. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to the RecoverPoint management interfaces, particularly limiting access to trusted administrative networks only. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their existing RecoverPoint deployments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and implement monitoring controls to detect anomalous command execution patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-77 and CWE-89 categories related to command injection and SQL injection respectively, and represents a significant threat that maps to multiple ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation and execution through command and scripting interpreters.