CVE-2023-41808 in Pandora FMS
Summary
by MITRE • 11/23/2023
Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in Pandora FMS on all allows Privilege Escalation. This vulnerability allows an unauthorised user to escalate and read sensitive files as if they were root. This issue affects Pandora FMS: from 700 through 773.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2023
The CVE-2023-41808 vulnerability represents a critical improper privilege management flaw in Pandora FMS versions ranging from 700 through 773, fundamentally compromising the system's security model. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-276 category, which specifically addresses incorrect permissions for critical resources, making it a direct threat to the principle of least privilege that forms the cornerstone of secure system design. The flaw enables unauthorized users to escalate their privileges and gain access to sensitive system files with root-level permissions, effectively bypassing the intended access controls that should protect critical system resources from unauthorized access.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate privilege management within the Pandora FMS application architecture, where the system fails to properly validate user permissions when accessing sensitive files or system resources. This weakness allows authenticated but unprivileged users to exploit specific application functions that should only be accessible to administrators or root-level accounts. The vulnerability manifests through improper input validation and insufficient access control mechanisms that fail to enforce proper privilege boundaries between different user roles within the application's permission model.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching, as it provides attackers with the ability to read sensitive files that typically require root-level access for system administration purposes. This includes but is not limited to configuration files containing database credentials, system logs, user authentication data, and other critical system information that could be leveraged for further attacks or system compromise. The privilege escalation capability undermines the entire security framework of the Pandora FMS system, potentially allowing attackers to gain complete control over the monitored infrastructure and access to all managed network resources.
Organizations utilizing Pandora FMS within the affected version range face significant risk from this vulnerability, as it represents a critical security gap that could be exploited by both internal and external threat actors. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple data theft, as it could enable attackers to modify system configurations, install malicious software, or establish persistent access points within the monitored network environment. This flaw directly violates the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the T1068 (Local Privilege Escalation) and T1566 (Phishing) tactics that attackers often employ to gain unauthorized access to critical system resources. Security teams should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability through patch updates from Pandora FMS vendors, as the risk of exploitation increases with the complexity and size of the monitored infrastructure.