CVE-2022-22951 in Carbon Black App Control
Summary
by MITRE • 03/24/2022
VMware Carbon Black App Control (8.5.x prior to 8.5.14, 8.6.x prior to 8.6.6, 8.7.x prior to 8.7.4 and 8.8.x prior to 8.8.2) contains an OS command injection vulnerability. An authenticated, high privileged malicious actor with network access to the VMware App Control administration interface may be able to execute commands on the server due to improper input validation leading to remote code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/25/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-22951 represents a critical operating system command injection flaw within VMware Carbon Black App Control, a widely deployed application control solution designed to prevent unauthorized software execution across enterprise environments. This vulnerability affects multiple version streams including 8.5.x through 8.5.13, 8.6.x through 8.6.5, 8.7.x through 8.7.3, and 8.8.x through 8.8.1, indicating a significant exposure window that could impact numerous organizations relying on this security platform. The flaw resides in the administrative interface of the application control system, specifically within the input validation mechanisms that process user-supplied data, creating a pathway for malicious actors to escalate their privileges and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying server infrastructure.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through improper input validation that fails to adequately sanitize or escape user-provided parameters before they are processed by the operating system shell. When an authenticated attacker with high privileged access attempts to interact with the administrative interface, the system does not properly validate or filter input data, allowing malicious payloads to be interpreted and executed as shell commands. This type of vulnerability maps directly to CWE-77, which specifically addresses command injection flaws where untrusted data is incorporated into system commands without proper sanitization. The attack vector requires an authenticated user with administrative privileges, but the impact is severe as it provides a direct path to remote code execution on the server hosting the App Control service, effectively bypassing the application control policies that the system is designed to enforce.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple remote code execution, as it fundamentally undermines the security posture of organizations relying on VMware Carbon Black App Control for their application control needs. A successful exploitation allows attackers to gain complete control over the server, potentially enabling them to modify or delete critical security policies, access sensitive data stored within the application control system, or use the compromised server as a pivot point for further attacks within the network. The vulnerability's presence in the administrative interface means that even organizations with strict network segmentation policies may be at risk if attackers can obtain valid administrative credentials through other means such as credential theft, social engineering, or lateral movement attacks. This threat scenario aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001, which describes command and scripting interpreter usage, and T1566, which covers credential harvesting through various attack vectors that could lead to administrative access.
Organizations must implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates for all affected versions of VMware Carbon Black App Control. The remediation process should involve comprehensive testing of the updated software in non-production environments before deployment to ensure compatibility with existing security policies and configurations. Network segmentation measures should be enhanced to limit access to the administrative interface to only trusted administrative workstations and users, implementing additional authentication controls such as multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of unauthorized access. Security monitoring should be strengthened to detect unusual patterns of administrative access or command execution attempts that could indicate exploitation attempts, while regular vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar input validation issues in other applications within the enterprise environment. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing proper input validation controls across all applications, particularly those with administrative interfaces that process user input, as this represents a common attack surface that requires continuous vigilance and proactive security measures to prevent exploitation.