CVE-2022-34367 in Data Protection Central
Summary
by MITRE • 07/21/2022
Dell EMC Data Protection Central versions 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 19.5, 19.6, contain(s) a Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability. A(n) remote unauthenticated attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to processing of unintended server operations.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/15/2022
The CVE-2022-34367 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within Dell EMC Data Protection Central versions 19.1 through 19.6, exposing organizations to significant operational risks. This vulnerability resides in the web-based management interface of the data protection platform, which serves as the primary control point for backup and recovery operations. The flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate server operations without authentication, potentially compromising the integrity and availability of critical data protection services. The affected versions share a common web framework architecture that fails to implement proper anti-CSRF mechanisms, creating a persistent security gap across multiple releases.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens in critical web requests processed by the Data Protection Central management interface. When legitimate users interact with the web application, the system should validate that requests originate from authenticated sessions and contain proper anti-CSRF tokens to prevent unauthorized operations. However, the vulnerability allows attackers to craft malicious requests that, when executed by authenticated users, perform unintended administrative actions. This flaw specifically affects the web application's handling of state-changing operations such as configuration modifications, user management, and backup policy updates. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which classifies cross-site request forgery as a weakness where web applications fail to validate that requests originate from legitimate sources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data compromise, as it enables attackers to manipulate the core backup and recovery infrastructure of organizations relying on Dell EMC Data Protection Central. An attacker could potentially disable backup services, modify critical backup policies, or even initiate unauthorized data restoration operations that could result in data loss or corruption. The unauthenticated nature of the attack means that no prior credentials are required to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with exposed management interfaces. This threat vector directly impacts the availability and integrity of backup operations, which are fundamental to business continuity and disaster recovery planning. The vulnerability creates a pathway for attackers to undermine the organization's data protection posture, potentially leading to extended downtime and data loss scenarios.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to restrict access to the Data Protection Central management interface, implementing proper web application firewalls to detect and block CSRF attacks, and ensuring that all affected versions are updated to the latest patches provided by Dell EMC. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security controls and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that protect critical infrastructure components. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving web application attacks and privilege escalation, highlighting the need for comprehensive security monitoring and access control measures. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments of their backup infrastructure and implement additional authentication controls to prevent unauthorized access to critical administrative functions. The vulnerability underscores the necessity of proper input validation and session management in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive operational data and system configuration changes.