CVE-2022-45482 in Lazy Mouse
Summary
by MITRE • 12/02/2022
Lazy Mouse server enforces weak password requirements and doesn't implement rate limiting, allowing remote unauthenticated users to easily and quickly brute force the PIN and execute arbitrary commands. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/24/2025
The CVE-2022-45482 vulnerability affects the Lazy Mouse server implementation which exposes significant security flaws in its authentication mechanism and access controls. This vulnerability stems from the server's failure to enforce strong password policies and the complete absence of rate limiting protections, creating a critical attack surface that allows remote unauthenticated adversaries to conduct efficient brute force operations against the system's PIN authentication mechanism. The vulnerability is classified with a CVSS score of 3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating high severity across all impact vectors including confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The technical flaw manifests through two primary weaknesses that compound to create an exploitable condition. First, the server implements weak password requirements that allow attackers to guess PINs using common patterns, dictionary words, or sequential number combinations. This weakness directly maps to CWE-521 Weak Password Requirements, where the system fails to enforce sufficient entropy and complexity requirements for authentication credentials. Second, the complete absence of rate limiting mechanisms enables attackers to rapidly iterate through potential PIN combinations without encountering delays or account lockouts that would normally prevent successful brute force attacks. This lack of protection represents a failure in implementing proper account lockout mechanisms and rate limiting as outlined in CWE-307 Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and potentially devastating for affected systems. Remote unauthenticated attackers can systematically brute force the PIN authentication mechanism to gain unauthorized access to the Lazy Mouse server, which then provides them with the ability to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system. This privilege escalation capability allows attackers to potentially compromise the entire system, exfiltrate sensitive data, modify system configurations, or establish persistent access through the compromised server. The high confidentiality impact (C:H) indicates that attackers can access sensitive information, while the high integrity (I:H) and availability (A:H) impacts suggest that attackers can modify system data and potentially disrupt services or cause system downtime.
The vulnerability aligns with several tactics and techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly those related to credential access and privilege escalation. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform credential stuffing and brute force attacks as described in ATT&CK technique T1110.003 Credential Stuffing, and subsequently use the gained access to execute commands through ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter. The lack of rate limiting and weak password enforcement directly enables these attack patterns by removing barriers that would normally prevent successful exploitation attempts. Organizations implementing Lazy Mouse server solutions should immediately address this vulnerability by strengthening password policies to enforce minimum entropy requirements, implementing robust rate limiting mechanisms, and establishing proper account lockout procedures to prevent automated brute force attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-45482 should include immediate implementation of strong password policies that enforce minimum length requirements, character set diversity, and resistance to common dictionary attacks. The server configuration must incorporate rate limiting mechanisms that limit the number of authentication attempts within a given time period, effectively preventing brute force attacks from succeeding within reasonable timeframes. Additionally, implementing account lockout procedures after a specified number of failed authentication attempts provides an additional layer of protection. Network-level protections such as firewall rules that limit access to the server from trusted IP ranges and intrusion detection systems that monitor for suspicious authentication patterns should also be deployed. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify all instances of Lazy Mouse server implementations and ensure that these security controls are properly configured and tested to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.