CVE-2024-21893 in Connect Secure
Summary
by MITRE • 01/31/2024
A server-side request forgery vulnerability in the SAML component of Ivanti Connect Secure (9.x, 22.x) and Ivanti Policy Secure (9.x, 22.x) and Ivanti Neurons for ZTA allows an attacker to access certain restricted resources without authentication.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical server-side request forgery flaw within the security infrastructure of Ivanti's enterprise security products. The issue resides in the SAML component of Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and Neurons for ZTA platforms, affecting versions 9.x and 22.x across all three product lines. The vulnerability enables unauthorized access to restricted resources through manipulation of SAML authentication flows, effectively bypassing authentication mechanisms that should protect sensitive system components.
The technical exploitation occurs when the SAML implementation fails to properly validate and sanitize external input parameters that are processed during authentication requests. Attackers can craft malicious SAML requests that redirect the system to internal resources that would normally be inaccessible from external networks. This flaw falls under CWE-918, which specifically addresses server-side request forgery vulnerabilities where applications fail to properly validate input from external sources. The vulnerability exists because the SAML component does not adequately filter or validate URLs and resource identifiers that are processed during the authentication flow, allowing attackers to manipulate the system into making unauthorized requests to internal services.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it can enable attackers to access sensitive system components, internal network resources, and potentially escalate privileges within the security infrastructure. Organizations using these Ivanti products face significant risk of unauthorized access to their protected environments, including potential data exfiltration, system compromise, and disruption of security controls. The vulnerability affects the core authentication mechanisms that protect enterprise security infrastructure, making it particularly dangerous as it undermines the fundamental security posture of affected systems. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.002, which involves server-side request forgery attacks targeting authentication systems.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patch application from Ivanti, which addresses the validation and sanitization issues in the SAML component. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to critical SAML endpoints and establish monitoring for unusual authentication patterns. Additional protective measures include configuring firewalls to restrict access to internal resources and implementing strict input validation for all SAML-related communications. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in security-critical components and highlights the need for comprehensive security testing of authentication mechanisms. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments of their SAML implementations to identify similar weaknesses in other components of their security infrastructure.