CVE-2018-14833 in Lacerte
Summary
by MITRE
Intuit Lacerte 2017 has Incorrect Access Control.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/18/2023
CVE-2018-14833 represents a critical access control vulnerability identified in Intuit Lacerte 2017 software, classified under CWE-284 which specifically addresses improper access control mechanisms. This vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks within the application's security framework, allowing unauthorized users to potentially access restricted functionalities and data. The flaw exists in the software's permission model where proper authentication and authorization validation processes are either missing or inadequately implemented, creating a pathway for privilege escalation attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through inadequate validation of user credentials and session management within the Lacerte application environment. Attackers can exploit this weakness to bypass normal access controls and gain unauthorized access to sensitive financial data, client information, and system resources that should only be accessible to authorized personnel. The vulnerability particularly affects the application's handling of user roles and permissions, where the system fails to properly verify that an authenticated user possesses the necessary privileges to perform specific actions within the software ecosystem.
From an operational perspective, this access control flaw poses significant risks to financial institutions and accounting firms that rely on Intuit Lacerte for sensitive client data management. The impact extends beyond simple data exposure to include potential financial fraud, regulatory compliance violations, and reputational damage. Organizations using this software may experience unauthorized modifications to client files, data exfiltration, and disruption of normal business operations. The vulnerability's exploitation can lead to cascading security incidents where compromised access privileges enable further lateral movement within network environments.
Security professionals should implement multiple layers of mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability effectively. Immediate remediation involves applying available patches from Intuit and ensuring proper access control configurations are enforced throughout the application. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect unauthorized access attempts and anomalous user behavior patterns. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar access control weaknesses in related systems. Organizations must also review and strengthen their privileged access management policies while implementing principle of least privilege controls to minimize potential damage from such vulnerabilities. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of weakness under privilege escalation techniques where adversaries leverage improper access controls to gain elevated system privileges, making it essential for security teams to monitor for these specific attack patterns in their environments.