CVE-2018-15655 in SureMDM
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in 42Gears SureMDM before 2018-11-27, related to CORS settings. Cross-origin access is possible.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-15655 represents a critical cross-origin resource sharing misconfiguration in 42Gears SureMDM software prior to version 2018-11-27. This issue stems from insufficient CORS policy implementation that allows unauthorized cross-origin requests to be processed by the affected system. The vulnerability exposes the mobile device management platform to potential exploitation through malicious cross-origin attacks that could compromise the integrity and confidentiality of managed devices and their associated data. The flaw specifically affects the web application interface of SureMDM, which is designed to manage and monitor enterprise mobile devices through a centralized web portal. When properly configured, CORS policies should restrict which origins can access resources on the server, but in this case the misconfiguration allows any origin to perform cross-origin requests against the vulnerable system.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-346, which addresses the lack of validation of cross-origin requests, and represents a classic example of insufficient resource origin validation in web applications. Attackers could leverage this weakness to perform cross-site request forgery attacks against authenticated users of the SureMDM platform, potentially enabling them to execute unauthorized administrative commands or access sensitive device management information. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and requires no privileged access to exploit, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered through social engineering or by tricking authenticated users into visiting malicious websites. The impact extends beyond simple data exposure to include potential privilege escalation and unauthorized device management operations, as the CORS misconfiguration allows attackers to bypass security controls that should normally prevent cross-origin access to administrative functions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to enterprises relying on 42Gears SureMDM for mobile device management, as it could enable attackers to compromise the entire mobile device management ecosystem. Organizations using the affected version of the software face potential exposure of managed device configurations, user data, and administrative credentials. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that SureMDM is designed for enterprise environments where sensitive corporate data is managed through mobile devices, making this vulnerability a prime target for advanced persistent threats. The exploitation of this vulnerability could result in unauthorized access to corporate mobile device fleets, potentially leading to data breaches, device hijacking, and loss of enterprise mobility management control. Additionally, the vulnerability may enable attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks against device communications, further amplifying the security impact.
Organizations should immediately update to the patched version of 42Gears SureMDM released on or after November 27, 2018, to remediate this vulnerability. System administrators should also review and implement proper CORS policy configurations on any web applications that may be exposed to cross-origin requests, ensuring that only trusted origins are permitted to access sensitive resources. The mitigation strategy should include implementing strict origin validation mechanisms, disabling unnecessary CORS headers, and conducting thorough security assessments of web applications to identify similar misconfigurations. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous cross-origin requests that may indicate exploitation attempts, and network segmentation should be implemented to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. This vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security updates and proper configuration management in enterprise mobile device management platforms, as inadequate CORS policies can severely compromise the security posture of critical infrastructure systems.