CVE-2018-18256 in Access Manager
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in CapMon Access Manager 5.4.1.1005. A regular user can obtain local administrator privileges if they run any whitelisted application through the Custom App Launcher.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/01/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-18256 resides within CapMon Access Manager version 5.4.1.1005, a security solution designed to control application execution and manage access permissions within enterprise environments. This flaw represents a critical privilege escalation vulnerability that fundamentally undermines the security model of the system by allowing unauthorized users to elevate their privileges from regular user status to local administrator level.
The technical flaw manifests through the Custom App Launcher functionality, which is intended to provide controlled execution of applications while maintaining security boundaries. However, the implementation contains a design weakness that permits a regular user to leverage any whitelisted application to gain administrative privileges. This occurs because the system fails to properly validate the execution context and privilege levels when applications are launched through the custom launcher mechanism, creating an exploitable path where user-level processes can be elevated to system-level privileges.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability has severe implications for enterprise security infrastructure. Attackers can exploit this weakness to bypass access controls that are supposed to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The impact extends beyond individual system compromise as it allows attackers to establish persistent access, escalate privileges across network segments, and potentially move laterally within the enterprise environment. The vulnerability essentially undermines the principle of least privilege that security administrators rely upon to maintain secure operations.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-276, which addresses improper privileges, and represents a classic example of privilege escalation through insufficient access control validation. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques, specifically leveraging application execution to gain elevated privileges. The attack surface is particularly concerning because it utilizes legitimate whitelisted applications, making the exploitation less detectable by traditional security monitoring systems that may not flag the execution of approved software as suspicious activity.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including restricting access to the Custom App Launcher functionality, implementing additional privilege validation checks, and reviewing all whitelisted applications for potential exploitation paths. The most effective immediate solution involves disabling the vulnerable Custom App Launcher feature until a proper patch is deployed, while also conducting comprehensive audits of all application execution paths to identify similar privilege escalation vectors within the security infrastructure.