CVE-2021-45977 in IntelliJ IDEA
Summary
by MITRE • 02/25/2022
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA 2021.3.1 Preview, IntelliJ IDEA 2021.3.1 RC, PyCharm Professional 2021.3.1 RC, GoLand 2021.3.1, PhpStorm 2021.3.1 Preview, PhpStorm 2021.3.1 RC, RubyMine 2021.3.1 Preview, RubyMine 2021.3.1 RC, CLion 2021.3.1, WebStorm 2021.3.1 Preview, and WebStorm 2021.3.1 RC (used as Remote Development backend IDEs) bind to the 0.0.0.0 IP address. The fixed versions are: IntelliJ IDEA 2021.3.1, PyCharm Professional 2021.3.1, GoLand 2021.3.2, PhpStorm 2021.3.1 (213.6461.83), RubyMine 2021.3.1, CLion 2021.3.2, and WebStorm 2021.3.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/28/2022
This vulnerability involves JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA and related IDEs that are configured to bind to the 0.0.0.0 IP address when used as remote development backend environments. The 0.0.0.0 address represents all available network interfaces and allows the IDE to accept connections from any network source, creating a significant security risk. When these IDEs operate in remote development mode, they typically establish backend connections to facilitate development activities across network boundaries. The flaw stems from improper network configuration where the IDE listens on all available interfaces instead of restricting connections to localhost or specific trusted addresses. This behavior creates an attack surface that adversaries can exploit to gain unauthorized access to the development environment, potentially leading to code execution, data theft, or further network infiltration. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because these IDEs often run with elevated privileges and may have access to sensitive source code, development credentials, and internal network resources. According to CWE-611, this represents an improper access control vulnerability where network services are exposed to unauthorized network access. The issue is classified under ATT&CK technique T1190, which involves exploiting vulnerabilities in remote services to gain initial access to target systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the IDE's remote development backend is configured to listen on all network interfaces rather than restricting access to localhost only. This configuration allows any network entity to establish connections to the IDE's backend services, bypassing normal authentication and authorization mechanisms. When developers use these IDEs for remote development, the backend services typically handle file synchronization, debugging sessions, and other development operations that require network connectivity. The binding to 0.0.0.0 essentially creates a listening socket that accepts connections from any IP address, making the development environment accessible to potential attackers. The vulnerability affects multiple JetBrains products including IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, GoLand, PhpStorm, RubyMine, CLion, and WebStorm, indicating a widespread configuration issue across the JetBrains ecosystem. This flaw is particularly dangerous because these IDEs often contain sensitive development artifacts, version control information, and may have access to production environments or development databases through their development workflows.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential compromise of entire development environments. Attackers who discover these exposed services can potentially perform man-in-the-middle attacks, intercept development traffic, or gain access to source code repositories that may contain sensitive information. The exposure of remote development backend services also increases the attack surface for lateral movement within networks, as these IDEs often have access to internal network resources and may contain credentials for various development tools and services. Additionally, the vulnerability can facilitate data exfiltration attacks where attackers access and steal sensitive source code, configuration files, or development artifacts that may contain intellectual property or security-sensitive information. The risk is amplified when these IDEs are deployed in corporate environments where they may have access to internal networks, databases, or cloud resources. From a compliance perspective, this vulnerability can lead to violations of security standards such as those outlined in NIST SP 800-53 and ISO/IEC 27001, particularly regarding access control and network security.
The recommended mitigations for this vulnerability involve immediate updates to the affected JetBrains products to versions that properly restrict network binding to localhost or specific trusted addresses. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and firewall rules to prevent unauthorized access to development backend services. Administrators should review and tighten network configurations for all JetBrains IDEs used in remote development environments, ensuring that backend services are not exposed to untrusted networks. Additional security measures include implementing strong authentication mechanisms for remote development sessions, monitoring network traffic for suspicious activity related to development backend connections, and conducting regular security assessments of development environments. Organizations should also consider using secure tunneling solutions such as SSH tunneling or VPN connections to access remote development services, rather than exposing backend services directly to network traffic. The vulnerability highlights the importance of secure configuration management and proper network security practices in development environments, where the convenience of remote access should not compromise overall security posture.