CVE-2022-20797 in Secure Network Analytics
Summary
by MITRE • 05/27/2022
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Secure Network Analytics, formerly Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands as an administrator on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is due to insufficient user input validation by the web-based management interface of the affected software. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by injecting arbitrary commands in the web-based management interface. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to make configuration changes on the affected device or cause certain services to restart unexpectedly.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/01/2022
This vulnerability resides within the web-based management interface of Cisco Secure Network Analytics, formerly known as Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of the system's administrative controls. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-provided data before processing, creating an avenue for malicious command injection attacks. The affected software operates with elevated privileges through its web interface, making the potential impact of this flaw particularly severe as it enables authenticated remote attackers to escalate their privileges and execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges on the underlying operating system.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through command injection techniques where an attacker crafts malicious input within the web interface that gets processed without proper validation, allowing arbitrary system commands to be executed. This flaw aligns with CWE-77, which specifically addresses command injection vulnerabilities, and represents a classic example of insufficient input sanitization in web applications. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple code execution to include the ability to modify system configurations and potentially cause service disruptions through unauthorized restarts of critical components. Attackers can leverage this weakness to gain full administrative control over the affected system, potentially leading to complete compromise of the network monitoring infrastructure.
The operational implications of this vulnerability are substantial for organizations relying on Cisco Secure Network Analytics for network security monitoring and threat detection. A successful exploitation could enable attackers to bypass network security controls, modify monitoring policies, disable security features, or even establish persistent access points within the network infrastructure. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries need only valid authentication credentials to access the web interface, significantly reducing the attack surface and increasing the likelihood of successful exploitation. This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the network monitoring system, potentially compromising the organization's ability to detect and respond to security incidents.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches provided by Cisco, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the web interface, and enforcing strict access controls through multi-factor authentication. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of input validation and privilege separation in web-based management interfaces, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059 for command and scripting interpreter usage. Security teams should also conduct thorough network monitoring to detect any suspicious activities that might indicate exploitation attempts, while implementing web application firewalls to filter malicious payloads. Additionally, regular security assessments and penetration testing should be performed to identify similar vulnerabilities in other network management systems and ensure proper defense-in-depth measures are in place to protect critical infrastructure components.