CVE-2023-6253 in Digital Guardian Agent
Summary
by MITRE • 11/22/2023
A saved encryption key in the Uninstaller in Digital Guardian's Agent before version 7.9.4 allows a local attacker to retrieve the uninstall key and remove the software by extracting the uninstaller key from the memory of the uninstaller file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-6253 represents a critical security flaw in Digital Guardian's Agent software affecting versions prior to 7.9.4. This issue resides within the uninstaller component of the security solution, creating an exploitable condition that allows local attackers to extract sensitive cryptographic keys from memory. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of encryption keys during the uninstallation process, where the uninstaller maintains a saved encryption key that remains accessible to local adversaries. This weakness directly violates fundamental security principles of key management and privilege separation, as the uninstallation mechanism retains credentials that should be ephemeral and securely disposed of after use.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves memory analysis techniques that allow attackers to extract the uninstall key from the uninstaller process memory space. The flaw occurs because the uninstaller application stores the encryption key in a manner that persists beyond its operational requirements, creating a persistent access vector for local threat actors. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) and CWE-255 (Credentials Management Vulnerabilities) as it involves the insecure storage and handling of cryptographic credentials. The memory-based extraction process represents a classic example of information disclosure through process memory inspection, which falls under the ATT&CK technique T1003.001 (OS Credential Dumping: LSASS Memory) and T1059.001 (Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell) when considering the tools and methods typically used for such memory analysis.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it provides local attackers with the ability to completely remove the Digital Guardian Agent software from affected systems. This removal capability represents a substantial risk to enterprise security infrastructure, as it allows adversaries to eliminate security monitoring capabilities that may be critical for detecting and responding to threats. The vulnerability essentially provides a backdoor mechanism for attackers to disable security controls, potentially leaving systems exposed to further exploitation. Organizations relying on Digital Guardian for endpoint protection face the risk of unauthorized removal of security agents, which could compromise their overall security posture and leave systems vulnerable to persistent threats.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-6253 require immediate patching of affected Digital Guardian Agent installations to version 7.9.4 or later, which addresses the improper key storage mechanism. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring for unauthorized uninstallation activities and establish baseline configurations that can detect when security agents are removed from systems. Network segmentation and privileged access controls should be reinforced to limit local access to systems running Digital Guardian, reducing the attack surface for exploitation. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper key lifecycle management and the need for security solutions to implement robust credential handling mechanisms that prevent long-term storage of sensitive information in memory. Organizations should also consider implementing endpoint detection and response solutions that can monitor for memory-based attacks and unauthorized software removal activities. Compliance with security standards such as NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001 becomes critical when addressing such vulnerabilities, as they require proper handling of cryptographic keys and protection of security infrastructure components from unauthorized access.