CVE-2022-1554 in scout
Summary
by MITRE • 05/03/2022
Path Traversal due to `send_file` call in GitHub repository clinical-genomics/scout prior to 4.52.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-1554 represents a critical path traversal issue within the clinical-genomics/scout repository prior to version 4.52. This security flaw stems from an improper implementation of the send_file function which allows attackers to access arbitrary files on the server filesystem through crafted requests. The vulnerability specifically affects web applications that utilize the scout framework for clinical genomics data management and analysis. Path traversal vulnerabilities of this nature are particularly dangerous in healthcare and research environments where sensitive patient data and genomic information are stored, as they can potentially expose confidential medical records and research data to unauthorized parties.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper validation and sanitization of file paths within the send_file function implementation. When the application processes user-supplied input to determine which files to serve, it fails to adequately sanitize or validate the file path parameters. This allows malicious actors to manipulate the file path through directory traversal sequences such as ../ or ..\ to navigate outside the intended directory boundaries. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-22 as "Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')", which is a well-established weakness in software security that has been documented for decades. The flaw essentially permits attackers to bypass normal access controls and retrieve files that should be restricted, including configuration files, database files, and potentially sensitive source code.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, particularly in the clinical genomics domain where data integrity and confidentiality are paramount. Attackers could potentially access not only genomic sequence data but also associated patient metadata, clinical reports, and research findings that may contain personally identifiable information. The consequences could include regulatory violations under healthcare privacy laws such as HIPAA, data breach notifications, and significant reputational damage to healthcare institutions and research organizations. Additionally, the vulnerability could enable further attacks by allowing threat actors to discover and exploit other weaknesses within the application or underlying infrastructure, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that clinical genomics platforms often contain highly sensitive data that could be valuable on the black market, making such systems attractive targets for cybercriminals.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-1554 should focus on immediate patching of the scout repository to version 4.52 or later where the path traversal vulnerability has been addressed. Organizations should implement proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms that strictly enforce file path restrictions, ensuring that all user-supplied file parameters are validated against a whitelist of allowed directories and file extensions. The implementation should follow the principle of least privilege, limiting file access to only necessary directories and preventing any traversal outside of designated boundaries. Security controls should include proper authentication and authorization checks before any file access operations, as well as logging and monitoring of file access attempts to detect potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and runtime application self-protection mechanisms to provide additional layers of defense. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques such as T1083 (File and Directory Discovery) and T1566 (Phishing) as attackers may use the vulnerability to discover and exfiltrate sensitive data, while the remediation efforts align with defensive techniques focused on input validation and privilege restriction. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues in other components of the clinical genomics infrastructure and to ensure comprehensive protection against similar path traversal attacks.