CVE-2020-8890 in MISP
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in MISP before 2.4.121. It mishandled time skew (between the machine hosting the web server and the machine hosting the database) when trying to block a brute-force series of invalid requests.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-8890 affects MISP versions prior to 2.4.121 and represents a critical security flaw related to time synchronization issues between web server and database hosts. This vulnerability stems from the improper handling of time skew, which occurs when there is a temporal discrepancy between the machine running the web application and the machine hosting the database component. The flaw specifically manifests during brute-force attack mitigation attempts, where the system's inability to accurately account for time differences creates a security weakness that could be exploited by attackers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability lies in the brute-force protection mechanisms within MISP's authentication system. When legitimate users or attackers attempt to access the system, the application relies on time-based tracking to identify and block suspicious patterns. However, due to the time skew handling issue, the system fails to properly correlate authentication attempts across different time zones or systems with varying clock settings. This results in a scenario where legitimate users might be incorrectly blocked while actual attackers could potentially bypass the protection mechanisms through timing-based attacks.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability significantly impacts the security posture of MISP deployments by weakening the system's ability to defend against brute-force attacks. Attackers could exploit the time skew issue to circumvent rate-limiting mechanisms, potentially leading to unauthorized access attempts and credential stuffing attacks. The vulnerability essentially creates a window of opportunity for malicious actors to perform repeated authentication attempts without proper blocking, as the system's time-based protection logic becomes unreliable due to the synchronization discrepancies.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2020-8890 requires immediate upgrading to MISP version 2.4.121 or later, which includes fixed time synchronization handling mechanisms. Organizations should also implement robust time synchronization protocols across all system components, utilizing network time protocol servers to maintain consistent time settings. Additionally, system administrators should monitor authentication logs for unusual patterns and implement additional security layers such as multi-factor authentication to reduce the attack surface. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-1349, which addresses time-related security flaws in authentication systems, and represents a significant concern under the ATT&CK framework's credential access tactics where attackers attempt to bypass authentication mechanisms through brute-force methods. The fix implemented in MISP 2.4.121 specifically addresses the time synchronization logic within the brute-force protection module, ensuring that authentication attempts are properly tracked regardless of temporal discrepancies between system components.