CVE-2018-8939 in Whatsup Gold
Summary
by MITRE
An SSRF issue was discovered in NmAPI.exe in Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold before 2018 (18.0). Malicious actors can submit specially crafted requests via the NmAPI executable to (1) gain unauthorized access to the WhatsUp Gold system, (2) obtain information about the WhatsUp Gold system, or (3) execute remote commands.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-8939 represents a critical server-side request forgery flaw within the NmAPI.exe component of Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold versions prior to 2018 release 18.0. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-918, specifically addressing server-side request forgery issues that enable attackers to manipulate the target system into making unauthorized requests to internal resources. The flaw exists in the network management application's API handling mechanism, where input validation is insufficient to prevent malicious actors from crafting requests that bypass normal access controls.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows attackers to exploit the NmAPI.exe executable through specially crafted HTTP requests that can traverse the application's internal network boundaries. When processing these malformed requests, the system fails to properly validate the target URLs or endpoints, enabling an attacker to redirect the application's network requests to internal systems or services that should normally be inaccessible from external networks. This creates a pathway for unauthorized access to the underlying WhatsUp Gold system infrastructure, potentially exposing sensitive configuration data, system information, and network topology details.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with the capability to execute remote commands on the affected system. This remote code execution potential stems from the ability to manipulate the NmAPI.exe process to make requests to internal services that may be configured to accept commands or execute scripts. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to gain full control over the WhatsUp Gold server, potentially using it as a pivot point to access other systems within the network infrastructure. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold for network monitoring and management, creating a significant security risk for enterprises with complex network environments.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold version 2018 (18.0) or later, which contains patches addressing this vulnerability. Network segmentation should be enforced to limit access to the NmAPI.exe service, and firewall rules should be configured to restrict external access to the application's API endpoints. Input validation controls should be strengthened to prevent malformed requests from reaching the vulnerable processing components, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in network management tools. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1190 for Server-side Request Forgery and T1059 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, highlighting the multi-faceted attack surface this vulnerability exposes. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous request patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts.