CVE-2019-7394 in Risk Authentication
Summary
by MITRE
A privilege escalation vulnerability in the administrative user interface of CA Technologies CA Strong Authentication 9.0.x, 8.2.x, 8.1.x, 8.0.x, 7.1.x and CA Risk Authentication 9.0.x, 8.2.x, 8.1.x, 8.0.x, 3.1.x allows an authenticated attacker to gain additional privileges in some cases where an account has customized and limited privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/24/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-7394 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the administrative interfaces of CA Technologies' authentication solutions, specifically affecting versions of CA Strong Authentication and CA Risk Authentication across multiple release branches. This security weakness manifests in the administrative user interface components where authenticated attackers can exploit insufficient access controls to elevate their privileges beyond the intended limitations of their accounts. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates under the assumption that an attacker has already gained initial authentication access to the system, making it a post-authentication privilege escalation vector.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms within the administrative interface components of these authentication platforms. When users with customized and limited privileges attempt to interact with certain administrative functions, the system fails to properly verify whether the requesting user has sufficient authorization levels to perform the requested operations. This flaw creates a path where attackers can manipulate administrative interfaces to execute privileged actions that should be restricted to users with appropriate administrative credentials. The vulnerability operates through the manipulation of interface elements or API calls that bypass normal access control checks, allowing for unauthorized privilege elevation.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-7394 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it can enable attackers to gain access to sensitive system functions and potentially compromise entire authentication infrastructures. Organizations utilizing affected versions of these authentication solutions face significant risks including unauthorized access to user accounts, modification of authentication policies, and potential lateral movement within their networks. The vulnerability's presence in multiple versions across different product lines increases the attack surface and makes it more challenging for organizations to implement effective mitigations. This type of vulnerability directly aligns with CWE-284, which categorizes improper access control issues, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1068, which addresses local privilege escalation through application misconfigurations.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates released for the affected versions of CA Strong Authentication and CA Risk Authentication. Network segmentation and monitoring of administrative interface access should be enhanced to detect unusual privilege escalation patterns. Access controls should be reviewed to ensure that users have the minimum necessary privileges for their roles, following the principle of least privilege. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any other potential access control flaws within their authentication infrastructure and consider implementing additional monitoring controls for administrative interface activities. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper access control implementation in administrative interfaces and serves as a reminder of the need for regular security assessments of authentication systems.