CVE-2019-3993 in elog
Summary
by MITRE
ELOG 3.1.4-57bea22 and below is affected by an information disclosure vulnerability. A remote unauthenticated attacker can recover a user's password hash by sending a crafted HTTP POST request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/12/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-3993 affects ELOG version 3.1.4-57bea22 and earlier releases, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that undermines the security posture of the affected system. This vulnerability specifically targets the application's handling of authentication data and exposes sensitive user credentials through improper error response mechanisms. The flaw enables remote attackers to obtain password hashes without requiring any authentication credentials, effectively bypassing standard security controls that should protect user account information. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper error handling within the application's web interface, creating an exploitable condition that allows unauthorized data retrieval.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a crafted HTTP POST request that manipulates the application's authentication flow to return password hash information in the response. When an attacker submits this specially formatted request, the system fails to properly validate the request parameters and instead processes the request in a manner that exposes internal authentication data structures. This behavior aligns with CWE-200, which addresses information exposure vulnerabilities where sensitive data is unintentionally made available to unauthorized actors. The flaw essentially creates an information disclosure channel that allows attackers to extract password hashes from the application's user database without requiring legitimate credentials or access privileges.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to user account security and overall system integrity. The exposure of password hashes provides attackers with the foundation for subsequent credential-based attacks including offline password cracking, credential reuse attacks, and potential account takeovers. The vulnerability affects all users whose credentials are stored within the affected ELOG system, potentially compromising thousands of accounts if the application serves a large user base. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access to the system or network infrastructure, making it particularly dangerous for organizations that rely on this logging application for operational data management.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest available patches from the ELOG development team, implementing network-level restrictions to limit access to the vulnerable application, and conducting comprehensive security audits of all authentication-related components. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper error handling and input validation practices that align with security standards such as those outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST SP 800-53 security controls. Additionally, security teams should consider implementing intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious HTTP POST requests that match the pattern associated with this vulnerability, and should conduct regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar flaws in other applications within their environment. The remediation process should also include reviewing and strengthening authentication mechanisms, implementing proper access controls, and ensuring that all user credentials are stored using appropriate hashing algorithms with adequate salt values to prevent successful cracking attempts even if hashes are compromised.