CVE-2020-27361 in Provisioning Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 07/01/2021
An issue exists within Akkadian Provisioning Manager 4.50.02 which allows attackers to view sensitive information within the /pme subdirectories.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/09/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-27361 affects Akkadian Provisioning Manager version 4.50.02 and represents a critical information disclosure flaw that exposes sensitive data through improper access controls within the application's directory structure. This issue stems from inadequate permission controls that allow unauthorized users to access restricted content located within the /pme subdirectories of the provisioning manager system. The vulnerability falls under the category of improper access control as defined by CWE-284, where the system fails to properly enforce access restrictions on sensitive resources.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves the application's failure to validate user permissions before serving content from the /pme directory structure. Attackers can exploit this weakness by directly accessing specific paths within the application's URL structure, bypassing normal authentication and authorization mechanisms. The affected system appears to lack proper input validation and access control checks that should prevent unauthorized directory traversal or content exposure. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can expose sensitive operational data, configuration files, or system information that should remain restricted to authorized personnel only.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the exposed data within the /pme subdirectories could contain critical system configuration details, user credentials, network information, or other sensitive operational data. This exposure creates potential attack vectors for more sophisticated attacks including privilege escalation, lateral movement within the network, or targeted attacks against specific system components. The vulnerability can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring any special privileges or authentication, making it particularly dangerous in environments where the provisioning manager is accessible over the network.
Security professionals should implement immediate mitigations including restricting access to the affected directories through web server configuration, implementing proper authentication mechanisms for all application paths, and conducting thorough access control reviews. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and proper input validation as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and MITRE ATT&CK framework categories related to privilege escalation and credential access. Organizations should also perform regular security assessments to identify similar access control weaknesses across their application portfolio and ensure that all directory structures are properly protected against unauthorized access attempts.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK techniques focused on credential access and privilege escalation, where attackers can leverage information disclosure to gain deeper insights into system configurations and potentially escalate their access privileges. This type of vulnerability often serves as a stepping stone for more comprehensive attacks and represents a fundamental failure in the application's security architecture. System administrators should also consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized access attempts to sensitive directories and ensure that access logs are properly maintained for forensic analysis purposes.