CVE-2019-6035 in Athenz
Summary
by MITRE
Open redirect vulnerability in Athenz v1.8.24 and earlier allows remote attackers to redirect users to arbitrary web sites and conduct phishing attacks via a specially crafted page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/17/2024
The CVE-2019-6035 vulnerability represents a critical open redirect flaw discovered in the Athenz identity and access management system version 1.8.24 and earlier. This vulnerability resides within the authentication and authorization framework that governs access control for distributed systems, making it particularly dangerous for organizations relying on Athenz for secure service-to-service communication and user authentication. The flaw manifests when the system fails to properly validate redirect URLs, allowing malicious actors to craft deceptive links that appear legitimate but direct users to attacker-controlled domains.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the redirect mechanisms used by Athenz components. When users are authenticated or when the system attempts to redirect them to specific pages after authentication, the application does not adequately sanitize or verify the target URLs. This oversight creates a pathway for attackers to manipulate the redirect parameter, inserting malicious domains that can be used to harvest credentials or distribute malware. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-601, which specifically addresses open redirect vulnerabilities where applications redirect users to unvalidated external URLs.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple phishing attacks, as it can be leveraged for sophisticated social engineering campaigns targeting both end users and system administrators. Attackers can exploit this weakness to create convincing fake login pages that mimic legitimate Athenz interfaces, potentially compromising user credentials and gaining unauthorized access to protected services. The implications are particularly severe in enterprise environments where Athenz manages access to critical infrastructure components, as successful exploitation could lead to lateral movement within networks and privilege escalation. This vulnerability directly maps to several ATT&CK techniques including initial access through phishing and credential access through credential dumping.
Organizations utilizing affected versions of Athenz should prioritize immediate remediation through patching to version 1.8.25 or later, which includes proper URL validation mechanisms. Additionally, network administrators should implement strict egress filtering to prevent access to known malicious domains and deploy web application firewalls to monitor and block suspicious redirect patterns. Security teams should also conduct thorough audits of all redirect mechanisms within their Athenz deployments and consider implementing additional authentication controls such as multi-factor authentication to mitigate the risk of credential compromise. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating all user-supplied input in web applications and underscores the need for comprehensive security testing throughout the software development lifecycle.