CVE-2024-13830 in Connect Secure
Summary
by MITRE • 02/11/2025
Reflected XSS in Ivanti Connect Secure before version 22.7R2.6 and Ivanti Policy Secure before version 22.7R1.3 allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to obtain admin privileges. User interaction is required.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/11/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-13830 represents a critical reflected cross-site scripting flaw affecting Ivanti Connect Secure and Ivanti Policy Secure products. This security weakness exists in versions prior to 22.7R2.6 for Connect Secure and 22.7R1.3 for Policy Secure, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise system integrity. The vulnerability specifically targets the web-based administrative interfaces of these security solutions, which are commonly deployed in enterprise environments to manage network access and policy enforcement. The reflected XSS nature indicates that malicious input passed through HTTP request parameters is executed in the victim's browser context, making it particularly dangerous for privileged account compromise.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the web application's user interface components. Attackers can craft malicious URLs containing specially crafted script payloads that, when clicked by an authenticated administrator, get reflected back in the application's response and executed in the administrator's browser session. This particular flaw requires user interaction, meaning that an attacker must first convince a legitimate administrator to click on a malicious link, typically through phishing campaigns or social engineering tactics. The vulnerability's classification as CWE-79 - Cross-site Scripting - aligns with the standard categorization of reflected XSS attacks where malicious scripts are reflected off a web server to a victim's browser, bypassing traditional security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables attackers to escalate privileges and gain administrative control over the affected security appliances. Once an attacker successfully exploits the reflected XSS vulnerability, they can leverage the elevated privileges to manipulate security policies, access sensitive network data, and potentially establish persistent access to the enterprise environment. This attack vector directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to complete compromise of the security infrastructure. The vulnerability's presence in widely deployed security appliances means that successful exploitation could affect organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises that rely on Ivanti's solutions for network access control and policy management. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that these appliances often sit at the boundary of enterprise networks, making them prime targets for lateral movement and privilege escalation attacks.
Organizations must implement immediate mitigations to address this vulnerability, including deploying the vendor-provided patches for both Connect Secure and Policy Secure products. The recommended remediation strategy involves upgrading to the patched versions 22.7R2.6 for Connect Secure and 22.7R1.3 for Policy Secure, which contain proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent reflected XSS attacks. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious user interactions with potentially malicious links, while security awareness training programs should emphasize the dangers of clicking untrusted links, particularly those that may appear to originate from legitimate administrative sources. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1566 - Phishing and T1078 - Valid Accounts, as attackers leverage social engineering to trick administrators into executing malicious payloads, then exploit valid administrative accounts to achieve persistent access. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and strict input validation policies can provide defense-in-depth measures to prevent exploitation even if the primary patch is not immediately deployed.