CVE-2019-17201 in Admin By Request
Summary
by MITRE
FastTrack Admin By Request 6.1.0.0 supports group policies that are supposed to allow only a select range of users to elevate to Administrator privilege at will. When a user requests elevation using the AdminByRequest.exe interface, the interface communicates with the underlying service (Audckq32.exe) using a .NET named pipe. If the underlying service responds that a user is permitted access to the elevation feature, the client then reinitiates communication with the underlying service and requests elevation. This elevation request has no local checks in the service, and depends on client-side validation in the AdminByRequest.exe interface, i.e., it is a vulnerable exposed functionality in the service. By communicating directly with the underlying service, any user can request elevation and obtain Administrator privilege regardless of group policies or permissions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/25/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2019-17201 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within FastTrack Admin By Request version 6.1.0.0, a system designed to enforce strict access controls for administrative privileges. This software implements group policies to restrict which users can elevate their privileges to administrator status, creating a security boundary that should prevent unauthorized access to elevated functionality. The system architecture relies on a client-server model where the AdminByRequest.exe interface serves as the user-facing component that communicates with the backend Audckq32.exe service through .NET named pipes. The intended security model depends on proper validation at both client and server levels, with the client interface supposed to verify user permissions before initiating elevation requests.
The technical flaw stems from a fundamental architectural weakness in the service implementation where the elevation request process lacks proper local validation. While the initial authentication check occurs within the client interface, the underlying Audckq32.exe service does not independently verify the legitimacy of elevation requests before executing them. This creates a dangerous scenario where the service operates on trust in client-side validation without performing its own authorization checks. The vulnerability manifests when an attacker bypasses the client-side validation by directly communicating with the Audckq32.exe service through the named pipe interface, effectively circumventing all group policy restrictions and permission controls that should govern administrative access.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching, as it allows any local user to escalate privileges to administrator level without meeting the configured security requirements. This represents a complete breakdown of the principle of least privilege that security administrators rely upon to protect critical systems. The vulnerability affects not only individual systems but also enterprise environments where such software may be deployed across multiple machines, potentially providing attackers with a persistent backdoor to gain full administrative control. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires no special privileges to exploit, making it accessible to any user who can interact with the named pipe service.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and represents a classic example of insecure direct object reference where the service accepts requests without proper authorization validation. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this maps to privilege escalation techniques under T1068 (Local Port Forwarding) and T1548.1 (Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism) where attackers can leverage existing legitimate processes to gain elevated privileges. The flaw demonstrates poor defense-in-depth principles where multiple layers of security control fail to protect against a single point of failure in the service implementation. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including disabling the affected service if not required, applying proper access controls on named pipes, and implementing network segmentation to prevent unauthorized access to the service endpoints. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the importance of validating all inputs and requests at multiple levels within security-critical applications to prevent similar issues in future implementations.