CVE-2018-17538 in Evidence Sync
Summary
by MITRE
Axon (formerly TASER International) Evidence Sync 3.15.89 is vulnerable to process injection.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-17538 affects Axon Evidence Sync version 3.15.89, a software solution designed for managing and synchronizing digital evidence within law enforcement agencies. This application serves as a critical component in evidence management systems, handling sensitive digital data from various sources including body cameras, dash cameras, and other digital evidence collection devices. The software operates within the forensic investigation domain where maintaining data integrity and system security is paramount for legal proceedings and evidence admissibility.
The technical flaw manifests as a process injection vulnerability that allows malicious actors to inject code into the Evidence Sync application's process space. This weakness stems from insufficient input validation and improper handling of external data sources within the application's architecture. The vulnerability enables attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the running Evidence Sync process, which typically operates with elevated permissions due to its role in managing sensitive evidence data. Process injection techniques commonly exploited include reflective injection, dynamic code loading, or leveraging legitimate system utilities to gain code execution within the target process memory space.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, creating significant risks for law enforcement agencies and their evidence management systems. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could potentially access, modify, or exfiltrate sensitive digital evidence, compromising the integrity of ongoing investigations and potentially rendering evidence inadmissible in court proceedings. The vulnerability affects the entire chain of evidence management from collection through storage and synchronization, as the compromised application could alter evidence metadata or even replace actual evidence files with malicious substitutes. This risk is particularly severe given that evidence synchronization systems often operate in environments where data security and chain of custody are critical requirements for legal admissibility.
Organizations using Axon Evidence Sync 3.15.89 should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates as soon as they become available. Network segmentation should be implemented to limit access to the Evidence Sync application to authorized personnel only, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect suspicious process injection activities. The principle of least privilege should be enforced by running the Evidence Sync application with minimal required permissions rather than elevated privileges. Additionally, regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify potential exploitation vectors and ensure the overall security posture of the evidence management infrastructure remains robust against similar vulnerabilities.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-78 and CWE-787 categories, representing code injection and out-of-bounds write weaknesses respectively, while also mapping to ATT&CK technique T1055 for process injection. The attack surface is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where evidence management systems may be interconnected with broader agency networks, potentially allowing lateral movement and escalation of privileges once initial access is achieved. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical need for secure coding practices and regular security assessments in forensic software development, where the integrity of evidence data directly impacts legal proceedings and public safety outcomes.