CVE-2022-0331 in Sophos
Summary
by MITRE • 03/29/2022
An information disclosure vulnerability in Webadmin allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to read the device serial number in Sophos Firewall version v18.5 MR2 and older.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/31/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-0331 represents a critical information disclosure weakness within Sophos Firewall web administration interfaces. This flaw affects versions v18.5 MR2 and earlier, where an unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the vulnerability to extract sensitive device serial numbers without requiring any valid credentials or prior access privileges. The issue stems from improper access controls within the webadmin component that fails to adequately restrict unauthorized information retrieval from the device's configuration management systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the web administration interface's handling of device identification information. When an attacker sends specific requests to the webadmin service, the system inadvertently returns the device serial number in plaintext format without proper authentication checks. This occurs due to insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms that should normally validate user credentials and permissions before exposing sensitive device information. The flaw operates at the application layer and can be exploited through standard network protocols, making it particularly dangerous as it requires no specialized tools or deep technical knowledge to execute.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as device serial numbers serve as critical identifiers for device management, licensing verification, and security tracking purposes. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability gains access to potentially sensitive device metadata that could be used for targeted attacks, device tracking, or to facilitate further exploitation attempts against the same network infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality aspect of the CIA triad and can enable attackers to build comprehensive profiles of network assets, potentially leading to more sophisticated attack vectors. This weakness particularly impacts organizations that rely on device serial numbers for inventory management, compliance tracking, or security monitoring purposes.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to Sophos Firewall version v18.5 MR3 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation and access control measures should be reinforced to limit exposure of web administration interfaces to untrusted networks. Additionally, implementing network monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous requests targeting webadmin services will help identify potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which describes improper output handling leading to information exposure, and may be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1082 for system information discovery. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to ensure all affected devices are properly updated and that no other similar information disclosure vulnerabilities exist within their network infrastructure.