CVE-2024-20738 in FrameMaker Publishing Server
Summary
by MITRE • 02/15/2024
Adobe Framemaker versions 2022.1 and earlier are affected by an Improper Authentication vulnerability that could result in a Security feature bypass. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass authentication mechanisms and gain unauthorized access. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/22/2024
Adobe Framemaker versions 2022.1 and earlier contain a critical improper authentication vulnerability classified as CVE-2024-20738 that fundamentally undermines the application's security controls. This vulnerability resides in the authentication mechanism implementation where the software fails to properly validate user credentials or session tokens, creating a pathway for unauthorized access. The flaw represents a direct violation of security principle 10 from the OWASP Top Ten 2021, which addresses broken authentication and session management. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows attackers to bypass security features entirely without requiring any user interaction, making it highly exploitable in automated attack scenarios.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of authentication tokens or credentials within the application's security framework. Attackers can exploit this weakness to gain access to protected resources or functionality without proper authorization, potentially leading to full system compromise or data exfiltration. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-287, Improper Authentication, indicates that the system does not adequately verify the identity of users or systems attempting to access protected resources. This weakness creates a persistent security gap where legitimate authentication mechanisms are circumvented, allowing unauthorized parties to assume valid user identities or access privileged functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it can enable attackers to perform actions that should be restricted to authorized users. Depending on the application's configuration and the privileges associated with different user roles, exploitation could lead to complete system compromise, data manipulation, or privilege escalation. The lack of user interaction requirement means that attackers can exploit this vulnerability at scale without needing to engage users in social engineering campaigns or phishing attacks. This characteristic aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004, Valid Accounts, where adversaries use legitimate credentials to gain access to systems, though in this case the vulnerability itself creates the bypass mechanism.
Organizations running affected versions of Adobe Framemaker must implement immediate mitigations to protect their systems from exploitation. The primary recommendation involves applying the latest security patches from Adobe, which should address the underlying authentication validation flaw. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual authentication patterns or unauthorized access attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper authentication implementation and highlights the need for regular security assessments of enterprise applications to identify and remediate similar weaknesses before they can be exploited by malicious actors.