CVE-2022-3869 in froxlor
Summary
by MITRE • 11/05/2022
Code Injection in GitHub repository froxlor/froxlor prior to 0.10.38.2.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-3869 represents a critical code injection flaw discovered in the froxlor web hosting control panel repository prior to version 0.10.38.2. This issue affects the open-source hosting management platform that serves thousands of web hosting environments worldwide. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the application's code execution pathways, creating a significant security risk for systems utilizing this control panel. Froxlor is widely adopted by hosting providers and system administrators for managing virtual hosting environments, making this vulnerability particularly concerning from a security perspective.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's handling of user-supplied input that is subsequently executed within the system context. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious input that gets processed and executed as code within the target environment. This typically occurs through improper sanitization of parameters passed to system commands or through direct code evaluation functions. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-94 category of "Improper Control of Generation of Code" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: Python" as the exploitation often involves Python-based code execution pathways. The flaw exists in the application's core functionality where user inputs are not properly validated before being processed through system call functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted for affected organizations. Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on the hosting server with the privileges of the web application process, potentially leading to complete system compromise. This could result in unauthorized access to customer data, server takeover, and further lateral movement within network environments. Hosting providers utilizing vulnerable froxlor installations face significant risks including customer data breaches, service disruption, and potential regulatory compliance violations. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for attackers to establish persistent backdoors, deploy malware, or use the compromised system as a launching point for attacks against other network resources.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate action from system administrators and hosting providers. The primary remediation involves upgrading to froxlor version 0.10.38.2 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the input validation issues. Organizations should also implement additional defensive measures including network segmentation, application firewalls, and regular security monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Input validation should be strengthened throughout the application to prevent malicious code injection, and privilege separation should be enforced to limit the impact of successful attacks. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of their hosting infrastructure and monitor for signs of compromise. Organizations using older versions should also consider implementing temporary workarounds such as disabling specific functionality or restricting access to vulnerable endpoints until proper patches can be deployed. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing robust security practices in hosting environments where multiple customers' data and applications are managed through a single control interface.