CVE-2020-28251 in AirMagnet Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE • 12/03/2020
NETSCOUT AirMagnet Enterprise 11.1.4 build 37257 and earlier has a sensor escalated privileges vulnerability that can be exploited to provide someone with administrative access to a sensor, with credentials to invoke a command to provide root access to the operating system. The attacker must complete a straightforward password-cracking exercise.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/12/2020
The vulnerability CVE-2020-28251 affects NETSCOUT AirMagnet Enterprise versions 11.1.4 build 37257 and earlier, representing a critical privilege escalation flaw within the sensor component of this wireless network security management platform. This vulnerability resides in the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the sensor subsystem, which is designed to monitor and analyze wireless network traffic for security threats. The affected system operates as a distributed sensor network architecture where individual sensors collect wireless data and report back to a central management console, making the sensor component a critical attack surface for adversaries seeking persistent access to wireless network monitoring infrastructure.
The technical flaw stems from improper privilege handling within the sensor's command execution interface, specifically allowing authenticated users to escalate their privileges to root access through a command invocation mechanism. This vulnerability manifests when an attacker successfully completes a password-cracking exercise against the sensor's authentication system, which then enables them to execute commands with elevated privileges. The underlying issue involves insufficient input validation and privilege separation between user-level operations and system-level command execution, creating a direct path from user authentication to root shell access. This represents a classic privilege escalation vulnerability that can be categorized under CWE-276, which deals with incorrect privilege assignment, and potentially CWE-78, concerning improper neutralization of special elements used in OS commands.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for organizations relying on AirMagnet Enterprise for wireless network security monitoring. Once exploited, attackers gain complete control over the sensor node, enabling them to manipulate wireless network data collection, modify sensor configurations, and potentially access sensitive wireless network information. The vulnerability allows for persistent backdoor access to the wireless monitoring infrastructure, which could be used to conduct long-term surveillance of wireless network activities, bypass security controls, or facilitate further attacks within the network. This compromise directly affects the integrity and availability of wireless network security monitoring, as attackers can manipulate sensor behavior to hide malicious activities or disable security features.
From a threat actor perspective, the exploitation process involves a two-phase approach where the initial phase requires password cracking to establish a foothold, followed by privilege escalation to root access. This attack vector aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers legitimate credentials, and T1548.001, covering abuse of privileges. The attack can be executed from network-accessible locations, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with sensors deployed in physically accessible locations. The vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector that can remain undetected for extended periods, as sensor compromise does not necessarily trigger immediate alerts from other security systems. Organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring for unusual command execution patterns on sensor nodes.
The recommended mitigations include immediate patching of affected AirMagnet Enterprise versions to address the privilege escalation flaw, implementing robust authentication controls including multi-factor authentication for sensor access, and establishing network segmentation between sensor nodes and critical network infrastructure. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unauthorized privilege escalation attempts and unusual command execution patterns on sensor systems. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments of their wireless network monitoring infrastructure and implement principle of least privilege for all sensor operations. Additionally, regular credential rotation and strong password policies should be enforced to make password-cracking attacks more difficult and time-consuming for potential attackers.