CVE-2024-13843 in Connect Secure
Summary
by MITRE • 02/11/2025
Cleartext storage of information in Ivanti Connect Secure before version 22.7R2.6 and Ivanti Policy Secure before version 22.7R1.3 allows a local authenticated attacker with admin privileges to read sensitive data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/15/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-13843 represents a critical weakness in Ivanti Connect Secure and Ivanti Policy Secure platforms that affects versions prior to 22.7R2.6 and 22.7R1.3 respectively. This flaw resides in the system's handling of sensitive information storage mechanisms, creating a pathway for unauthorized access to confidential data through cleartext persistence methods. The vulnerability specifically targets local authenticated attackers who possess administrative privileges, making it particularly concerning for environments where privileged accounts are compromised or where insider threats exist. The security implications extend beyond simple data exposure as this weakness enables attackers to potentially escalate their privileges and access additional system resources through the retrieved sensitive information.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of sensitive data within the affected Ivanti products, where information is stored in cleartext format rather than being adequately encrypted or obfuscated. This cleartext storage approach violates fundamental security principles and creates persistent exposure windows for sensitive data such as authentication credentials, configuration parameters, and potentially confidential system information. The flaw operates at the data persistence layer where sensitive information is written to storage without proper encryption mechanisms, allowing any local administrator with appropriate access rights to read these values directly from the storage medium. This represents a classic violation of data protection standards and demonstrates inadequate implementation of security controls at the application level.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends significantly beyond immediate data exposure, as it provides attackers with potential access to system administration credentials and configuration details that could enable further compromise of the affected environment. An attacker with administrative privileges could leverage this vulnerability to access additional sensitive information that may include encryption keys, database credentials, or other system configuration data that could be used for lateral movement within the network. The risk is amplified by the fact that these products are typically deployed in security-critical environments where they serve as gatekeepers for network access and policy enforcement, making the compromise of such systems particularly damaging to overall security posture. This vulnerability directly impacts the confidentiality aspect of the CIA triad and can lead to cascading security failures throughout the affected infrastructure.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability through the application of available patches from Ivanti, specifically upgrading to versions 22.7R2.6 for Connect Secure and 22.7R1.3 for Policy Secure. Additional mitigations should include implementing strict access controls and monitoring for unauthorized local access attempts, as well as conducting comprehensive audits of system configurations and credential storage mechanisms. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) and represents a clear violation of security best practices outlined in various frameworks including the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO 27001 standards. Security teams should also consider implementing behavioral analytics and anomaly detection to identify potential exploitation attempts, as this vulnerability may be targeted by both external attackers seeking to exploit compromised administrative accounts and insider threats within the organization. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patches in staging environments to ensure compatibility with existing deployments while maintaining continuous monitoring for any signs of exploitation attempts.