CVE-2020-7185 in Intelligent Management Center
Summary
by MITRE • 10/20/2020
A tvxlanlegend expression language injection remote code execution vulnerability was discovered in HPE Intelligent Management Center (iMC) version(s): Prior to iMC PLAT 7.3 (E0705P07).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/21/2020
The vulnerability CVE-2020-7185 represents a critical expression language injection flaw in HPE Intelligent Management Center (iMC) platform versions prior to PLAT 7.3 E0705P07. This vulnerability resides within the tvxlanlegend component and enables remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The issue stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms that allow malicious users to inject expression language payloads through improperly validated user inputs. The affected HPE iMC platform serves as a comprehensive network management solution that provides monitoring, configuration, and troubleshooting capabilities for enterprise networks, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could enable attackers to gain full administrative control over network infrastructure management systems.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of expression language constructs within the tvxlanlegend component, which processes user-supplied data without adequate sanitization. When legitimate users submit input containing malicious expression language payloads, the system fails to properly validate or escape these inputs before processing them, creating an injection vector that allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. This type of vulnerability maps directly to CWE-94, which describes "Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for Command and Scripting Interpreter. The vulnerability's remote execution capability means that attackers can exploit it from outside the network perimeter without requiring local system access or authentication credentials.
The operational impact of CVE-2020-7185 extends beyond simple remote code execution, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the affected iMC platform. This compromise could enable attackers to manipulate network configurations, access sensitive network management data, monitor network traffic, and potentially pivot to other systems within the network infrastructure. The vulnerability affects enterprise network management environments where HPE iMC is deployed, potentially exposing critical network operations to unauthorized access and manipulation. Organizations relying on this platform for network monitoring and management face significant risk of service disruption, data breaches, and network infrastructure compromise. The vulnerability's presence in versions prior to PLAT 7.3 E0705P07 indicates that it represents a long-standing issue that was not addressed in previous releases, highlighting the importance of timely patch management for network infrastructure components.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including patching to iMC PLAT 7.3 E0705P07 or later versions that contain the necessary security fixes for this vulnerability. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to iMC management interfaces to trusted administrative networks only. Additionally, monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious input patterns and command execution attempts on affected systems. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of the vulnerable iMC platform within their environments and ensure that proper access controls are implemented to limit the attack surface. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of validating and sanitizing all user inputs in enterprise management platforms, particularly those that process expression language or scripting constructs, as these components often represent high-value targets for attackers seeking persistent access to network infrastructure.