CVE-2022-4313 in Nessus
Summary
by MITRE • 03/16/2023
A vulnerability was reported where through modifying the scan variables, an authenticated user in Tenable products, that has Scan Policy Configuration roles, could manipulate audit policy variables to execute arbitrary commands on credentialed scan targets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/08/2023
This vulnerability exists within Tenable security products where authenticated users with Scan Policy Configuration roles can manipulate audit policy variables to execute arbitrary commands on credentialed scan targets. The flaw represents a critical privilege escalation issue that allows attackers to bypass intended security controls and gain unauthorized command execution capabilities. The vulnerability specifically affects the handling of scan variables within the audit policy framework, where insufficient input validation and sanitization permits malicious manipulation of system parameters. This issue falls under the CWE-74 category of Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component, commonly known as injection flaws. The technical implementation involves the improper handling of user-supplied data within scan policy configurations, which are then processed by the underlying scanning engine without adequate validation mechanisms. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious scan variables that, when processed, trigger unintended command execution on target systems where credentials have been provided for scanning operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple command execution to encompass full system compromise and data exfiltration capabilities. An authenticated user with Scan Policy Configuration permissions can leverage this flaw to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code on systems that are otherwise protected by the scanning infrastructure. This creates a significant risk for organizations that rely on Tenable products for vulnerability assessment and security monitoring, as the attacker can essentially bypass the intended security boundaries of the scanning environment. The vulnerability enables lateral movement within networks, as compromised scanning targets often have elevated privileges or access to sensitive resources. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.001 Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell and T1059.003 Command and Scripting Interpreter: Windows Command Shell, representing the execution of malicious commands through legitimate system interfaces. The attack chain typically begins with authentication, followed by policy manipulation, and concludes with remote code execution on target systems.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected Tenable products to address the improper input validation and sanitization issues within the audit policy variable handling mechanisms. Organizations should implement strict role-based access controls to limit Scan Policy Configuration permissions to only trusted administrators and reduce the attack surface. Network segmentation and monitoring of scan policy modifications can help detect suspicious activities related to audit variable manipulation. Security teams should also implement logging and alerting for command execution events on scan targets, particularly those initiated through audit policy configurations. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and the principle of least privilege in security architecture design, as it highlights how insufficient validation of user-supplied parameters can lead to arbitrary code execution. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular security assessments of their vulnerability management tools to identify similar injection flaws that could enable privilege escalation attacks. The remediation process must include comprehensive testing of scan policy configurations to ensure that no malicious variables can be injected into the system without proper validation and sanitization mechanisms.