CVE-2023-41265 in Sense Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE • 08/30/2023
An HTTP Request Tunneling vulnerability found in Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows for versions May 2023 Patch 3 and earlier, February 2023 Patch 7 and earlier, November 2022 Patch 10 and earlier, and August 2022 Patch 12 and earlier allows a remote attacker to elevate their privilege by tunneling HTTP requests in the raw HTTP request. This allows them to send requests that get executed by the backend server hosting the repository application. This is fixed in August 2023 IR, May 2023 Patch 4, February 2023 Patch 8, November 2022 Patch 11, and August 2022 Patch 13.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/29/2024
The CVE-2023-41265 vulnerability represents a critical HTTP request tunneling flaw in Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows deployments across multiple affected versions. This vulnerability enables remote attackers to exploit the application's HTTP request handling mechanisms by crafting specially formatted raw HTTP requests that bypass normal security controls. The flaw specifically affects systems running Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows with versions prior to the respective patch releases mentioned in the advisory, creating a persistent security risk that has remained unpatched for several months across different release cycles. The vulnerability operates by allowing attackers to inject malicious HTTP requests that are then processed by the backend repository application, effectively creating a pathway for unauthorized command execution and privilege escalation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and request processing within the Qlik Sense Enterprise HTTP handling layer. Attackers can construct HTTP requests that appear legitimate to the frontend but contain hidden or encoded malicious payloads that get interpreted by the backend server. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-444, which describes improper handling of HTTP requests, and represents a form of HTTP smuggling or tunneling attack that exploits the difference in how frontend and backend components process HTTP communications. The attack vector specifically targets the raw HTTP request parsing mechanism where the application fails to properly sanitize or validate the complete request structure before forwarding it to the repository application layer.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential full system compromise and data exfiltration capabilities. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can execute arbitrary commands on the backend server, potentially gaining access to sensitive business intelligence data, user credentials, and other confidential information stored within the Qlik Sense environment. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple release cycles indicates a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture rather than a simple one-time bug, making it particularly concerning for enterprise deployments where Qlik Sense serves as a critical data analysis platform. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol and T1566.001 for spearphishing via web applications, as it enables attackers to establish persistent access through web-based attack vectors.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement the recommended patches across all impacted versions, with particular attention to the August 2023 IR, May 2023 Patch 4, February 2023 Patch 8, November 2022 Patch 11, and August 2022 Patch 13 releases. Network segmentation and web application firewall rules should be implemented to monitor and restrict HTTP traffic to the Qlik Sense application, particularly focusing on unusual request patterns that might indicate tunneling attempts. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and implement monitoring for anomalous HTTP request behaviors that could indicate this specific vulnerability being targeted. Additionally, privileged access controls should be reviewed and strengthened to minimize the impact should an attacker successfully exploit this vulnerability, as the privilege escalation capability could enable complete system compromise. The vulnerability's classification as a critical security issue necessitates immediate remediation efforts across all affected deployments to prevent potential data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive enterprise analytics platforms.