CVE-2019-19014 in WebTitan
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in TitanHQ WebTitan before 5.18. It has a sudoers file that enables low-privilege users to execute a vast number of commands as root, including mv, chown, and chmod. This can be trivially exploited to gain root privileges by an attacker with access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-19014 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the TitanHQ WebTitan security solution prior to version 5.18. This issue stems from an improperly configured sudoers file that grants excessive permissions to low-privilege users, creating a severe security weakness that directly undermines the principle of least privilege. The sudoers file configuration allows authenticated users to execute a comprehensive set of system commands with root-level privileges, including fundamental administrative utilities such as mv, chown, and chmod that are essential for system manipulation and file management operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the misconfiguration of the sudoers file, which is a critical component of unix-like operating systems that controls user privileges and command execution permissions. This flaw aligns with CWE-276, which specifically addresses improper file permissions and inadequate access control mechanisms. The vulnerability demonstrates a classic case of over-permissive privilege assignment where the sudoers configuration does not properly restrict command execution to only those necessary for legitimate user operations. Attackers can exploit this by leveraging the elevated permissions to perform arbitrary file system modifications, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it provides an attacker with trivial means to achieve root access on the affected system. Once an attacker gains access to a low-privilege account, they can immediately leverage the sudoers configuration to execute commands that would normally require administrative privileges. This creates an immediate path to system compromise and allows for persistent access, data exfiltration, and further exploitation of the network. The vulnerability affects the core security model of the WebTitan solution, as it undermines the trust model that should prevent unauthorized privilege escalation.
The exploitation of CVE-2019-19014 follows patterns consistent with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers privilege escalation through the use of sudo or other privilege escalation tools. This vulnerability enables attackers to bypass normal security controls and gain root access without requiring additional attack vectors. Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to TitanHQ WebTitan version 5.18 or later, reviewing and restricting sudoers file configurations, and implementing proper access controls. Additional defensive measures include monitoring for unauthorized sudo command usage, implementing privilege monitoring tools, and conducting regular security audits to identify similar misconfigurations. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of proper privilege management and access control configuration in security solutions to prevent attackers from leveraging legitimate administrative tools for malicious purposes.