CVE-2019-6121 in Miner
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in NiceHash Miner before 2.0.3.0. Missing Authorization allows an adversary to can gain access to a miner's information about such as his recent payments, unclaimed Balance, Old Balance (at the time of December 2017 breach) , Projected payout, Mining stats like profitability, Efficiency, Number of workers, etc.. A valid Email address is required in order to retrieve this Information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-6121 represents a critical authorization flaw in NiceHash Miner software versions prior to 2.0.3.0, exposing sensitive user financial and operational data to unauthorized access. This weakness stems from inadequate validation mechanisms that fail to properly authenticate users before granting access to confidential mining information. The issue manifests as a missing authorization check that allows adversaries to retrieve comprehensive details about a user's mining activities and financial status without proper credentials or authentication.
The technical flaw operates through a design oversight where the application does not implement proper access controls for retrieving user-specific data. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by providing a valid email address associated with a NiceHash account, bypassing normal authentication procedures entirely. This creates a scenario where sensitive information including recent payments, unclaimed balances, historical balance data from December 2017 breaches, projected payouts, and detailed mining statistics become accessible to unauthorized parties. The vulnerability falls under the category of insufficient authorization as defined by CWE-285, specifically manifesting as CWE-285-11 which deals with missing authorization checks in applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with comprehensive insights into user mining operations and financial status. The exposure of historical balance data from December 2017 indicates potential long-term financial tracking capabilities, while access to profitability metrics, efficiency data, and worker counts enables adversaries to understand mining performance and potentially identify high-value targets. This information could be leveraged for financial fraud, competitive intelligence gathering, or as part of larger attack campaigns targeting cryptocurrency miners. The vulnerability directly relates to ATT&CK technique T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) and T1005 (Data from Local System) as it allows unauthorized access to sensitive local mining data.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper authorization controls within the NiceHash Miner application. System administrators should ensure all affected versions are updated to 2.0.3.0 or later, which includes corrected authentication mechanisms. The fix should implement robust session management, proper API endpoint validation, and mandatory user authentication before any sensitive data retrieval operations. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level controls to monitor for unusual data access patterns and establish proper access logging for mining application interfaces. Additionally, users should be educated about the importance of keeping software updated and the risks associated with using outdated mining applications that may contain known vulnerabilities. The remediation process should include thorough security testing of authentication mechanisms and validation of access controls to prevent similar authorization bypass scenarios in the future.