CVE-2020-3252 in UCS Director
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple vulnerabilities in the REST API of Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data may allow a remote attacker to bypass authentication or conduct directory traversal attacks on an affected device. For more information about these vulnerabilities, see the Details section of this advisory.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-3252 affects Cisco UCS Director and Cisco UCS Director Express for Big Data products, representing a critical security weakness in the REST API implementation that could enable remote attackers to compromise affected systems. These vulnerabilities stem from insufficient authentication mechanisms and inadequate input validation within the web application interfaces, creating pathways for unauthorized access and malicious file operations. The affected systems operate within enterprise data center environments where UCS Director serves as a critical orchestration platform for managing unified computing infrastructure and big data workloads.
The technical flaw manifests through two primary attack vectors that leverage weaknesses in the REST API design and implementation. The first vulnerability allows for authentication bypass through improper session management and weak credential validation mechanisms, while the second enables directory traversal attacks that permit attackers to access arbitrary files on the system. These issues occur due to inadequate sanitization of user inputs and insufficient access controls that should prevent unauthorized file system navigation. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and CWE-22 which covers directory traversal attacks. Attackers can exploit these flaws by crafting malicious API requests that either circumvent authentication checks or manipulate file path parameters to access restricted system resources.
The operational impact of CVE-2020-3252 extends beyond simple unauthorized access to include potential data exfiltration, system compromise, and disruption of critical enterprise services. Organizations utilizing Cisco UCS Director for managing their infrastructure orchestration may face unauthorized access to sensitive configuration data, system logs, and potentially customer information stored within the platform. The directory traversal capability could allow attackers to retrieve system binaries, configuration files, or other sensitive data that could be used for further exploitation or lateral movement within the network. This vulnerability directly impacts the CIA triad by compromising confidentiality through unauthorized data access and integrity through potential file modification or system compromise. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) and T1078 (Valid Accounts) techniques, as attackers can leverage the authentication bypass to maintain persistent access.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-3252 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems with Cisco's security updates and implementation of network segmentation to limit exposure of the REST API endpoints. Organizations should enforce strict access controls and implement monitoring solutions to detect anomalous API access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process involves applying Cisco's official security patches that address the authentication bypass and directory traversal vulnerabilities, while also implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the application layer. Network administrators should consider disabling unnecessary API endpoints and implementing robust logging and monitoring for all REST API interactions to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their UCS Director implementations and review access control policies to ensure least privilege principles are enforced throughout the system architecture.