CVE-2024-4142 in Artifactory
Summary
by MITRE • 05/02/2024
An Improper input validation vulnerability that could potentially lead to privilege escalation was discovered in JFrog Artifactory.
Due to this vulnerability, users with low privileges may gain administrative access to the system.
This issue can also be exploited in Artifactory platforms with anonymous access enabled.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/02/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-4142 represents a critical improper input validation flaw within JFrog Artifactory that fundamentally compromises the system's access control mechanisms. This weakness resides in the platform's handling of user inputs during authentication and authorization processes, creating a pathway for malicious actors to bypass normal security boundaries. The vulnerability specifically affects Artifactory's privilege management system where insufficient validation of user-provided data allows unauthorized access attempts to escalate privileges. When users submit requests through the application interface or API endpoints, the system fails to properly validate the integrity and legitimacy of the input parameters, enabling attackers to manipulate the authentication flow and gain elevated access rights. The flaw particularly manifests when processing user credentials or access tokens that should be strictly validated against established user roles and permissions. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the fundamental security architecture of the Artifactory platform.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of input parameters that control user access levels and administrative permissions. Attackers can craft malicious requests that exploit the validation gap to impersonate administrative users or gain unauthorized access to restricted system functions. The flaw typically involves parameter manipulation within API calls or web interface submissions where the system does not adequately sanitize or validate user-supplied data before processing. This allows attackers to submit crafted payloads that bypass normal access controls, potentially enabling them to execute administrative commands, modify system configurations, or access sensitive repositories and artifacts. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it can be leveraged to perform unauthorized operations that would normally require administrative credentials. The exploitation process often involves sending specially crafted requests that manipulate session tokens or authentication parameters to achieve elevated privileges, making this particularly dangerous in environments where automated processes or continuous integration systems rely on Artifactory for artifact management.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-4142 is severe and far-reaching across organizations that utilize JFrog Artifactory for software artifact management and repository operations. When exploited, this vulnerability can lead to complete system compromise where low-privilege users gain administrative access to critical infrastructure components. Organizations may experience unauthorized access to proprietary code repositories, sensitive build artifacts, and configuration data that could result in intellectual property theft, system manipulation, or disruption of development workflows. The vulnerability's potential for exploitation in environments with anonymous access enabled significantly increases the attack surface, as attackers can potentially exploit the flaw without requiring initial authentication credentials. This creates a particularly dangerous scenario where any user with access to the Artifactory platform can attempt to escalate privileges, potentially leading to widespread system compromise. The impact extends to business continuity as compromised repositories can be used to inject malicious artifacts into build processes, affecting downstream applications and potentially causing security incidents across the entire software supply chain.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches provided by JFrog, disabling anonymous access where possible, and implementing additional access controls and monitoring mechanisms. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, Improper Input Validation, which is a well-documented weakness in software security practices, and represents a clear violation of the principle of input sanitization. Security teams should also consider implementing network segmentation, enhanced logging and monitoring for suspicious authentication attempts, and regular security assessments of the Artifactory environment. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the T1078 credential access tactic and T1548 privilege escalation techniques. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify similar input validation flaws in other applications and systems, as this represents a common pattern of security weaknesses that can be exploited across various software platforms. Regular security training for developers and system administrators on secure coding practices and input validation techniques is essential to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future software releases.