CVE-2018-9026 in Privileged Access Manager
Summary
by MITRE
A session fixation vulnerability in CA Privileged Access Manager 2.x allows remote attackers to hijack user sessions with a specially crafted request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/20/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-9026 represents a critical session fixation flaw within CA Privileged Access Manager version 2.x systems. This weakness enables remote attackers to exploit the authentication mechanism by manipulating session identifiers, potentially leading to unauthorized access and privilege escalation within enterprise environments. The vulnerability specifically affects the session management component of the privileged access management solution, which is designed to control and monitor access to sensitive systems and resources.
The technical implementation of this session fixation vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly invalidate or regenerate session identifiers upon successful authentication. When users authenticate to the CA Privileged Access Manager system, the application may reuse existing session tokens or fail to generate fresh identifiers, creating opportunities for attackers to capture valid session cookies and reuse them to impersonate legitimate users. This flaw operates at the application layer and specifically targets the session management protocols that govern user authentication states within the privileged access environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple session hijacking, as it directly threatens the integrity of privileged access controls that organizations rely upon for security. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can gain persistent access to privileged accounts, potentially leading to data breaches, system compromise, and unauthorized administrative actions. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access to the network or system, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where privileged accounts have extensive access rights. This weakness directly undermines the principle of least privilege and can result in significant security incidents when exploited against high-value targets.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of CA Privileged Access Manager, implementing proper session management protocols that regenerate identifiers upon authentication, and deploying network monitoring solutions to detect suspicious session-related activities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-384, which specifically addresses session fixation issues in web applications, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1548.003 for bypassing application access controls. Security teams should also consider implementing additional controls such as multi-factor authentication for privileged accounts, regular session timeout configurations, and comprehensive monitoring of authentication events to detect potential exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to ensure that similar session management weaknesses do not exist in related systems or applications within the organization's attack surface.