CVE-2018-6503 in Management Center
Summary
by MITRE
A potential Access Control vulnerability has been identified in ArcSight Management Center (ArcMC) in all versions prior to 2.81. This vulnerability could be exploited to allow for vulnerable Access Controls.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/25/2020
The CVE-2018-6503 vulnerability represents a critical access control weakness discovered in the ArcSight Management Center (ArcMC) platform, affecting all versions prior to 2.81. This vulnerability resides within the platform's authentication and authorization mechanisms, creating potential entry points for unauthorized users to bypass established security controls. The ArcSight Management Center serves as a comprehensive security information and event management solution, making this access control flaw particularly concerning for organizations relying on its security monitoring capabilities. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple unauthorized access, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate security policies, view sensitive data, or disrupt the platform's operational integrity.
Technical exploitation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user permissions and authentication states within the ArcMC environment. Attackers can leverage this weakness to escalate privileges or gain access to resources that should be restricted to authorized personnel only. The flaw typically manifests when the system fails to properly enforce access control policies during critical operations, allowing unauthorized individuals to perform administrative functions or access restricted data sets. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-284 category, which specifically addresses improper access control implementations. The underlying technical mechanism often involves inadequate session management, flawed permission checking routines, or missing authorization checks within the application's core components.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-6503 extends far beyond immediate unauthorized access scenarios, potentially compromising the entire security posture of organizations using ArcSight Management Center. Security administrators may find their monitoring capabilities undermined as attackers could manipulate log data, alter security policies, or gain access to sensitive configuration information. This vulnerability directly affects the platform's ability to maintain data integrity and confidentiality, as unauthorized users might be able to modify security rules or access privileged information. Organizations relying on ArcSight for compliance monitoring face additional risks, as attackers could potentially hide malicious activities or manipulate audit trails to avoid detection. The vulnerability's exploitation aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential harvesting, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where ArcSight serves as a central security management tool.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-6503 primarily focus on immediate version upgrades to ArcSight Management Center 2.81 or later releases, which contain the necessary patches to address the access control weaknesses. Organizations should also implement additional network segmentation measures to limit access to the ArcSight Management Center to only authorized personnel and systems. Security configuration reviews should include validation of access control policies and implementation of multi-factor authentication for administrative access. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns or attempts to exploit the vulnerability. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to verify that access control mechanisms are functioning properly. The vulnerability's remediation aligns with industry best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001 controls for access control management, emphasizing the importance of proper authentication and authorization enforcement. Organizations should also establish incident response procedures specifically addressing access control breaches to ensure rapid containment and remediation of any exploitation attempts.