CVE-2024-47576 in Product Lifecycle Costing
Summary
by MITRE • 12/10/2024
SAP Product Lifecycle Costing Client (versions below 4.7.1) application loads on demand a DLL that is available with Windows OS. This DLL is loaded from the computer running SAP Product Lifecycle Costing Client application. That particular DLL could be replaced by a malicious one, that could execute commands as being part of SAP Product Lifecycle Costing Client Application. On a successful attack, it can cause a low impact to confidentiality but no impact to the integrity and availability of the application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/10/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-47576 affects SAP Product Lifecycle Costing Client versions prior to 4.7.1, representing a significant security risk through insecure dynamic link library loading practices. This flaw stems from the application's improper handling of dynamic library loading mechanisms, where the software attempts to load a system DLL that is already present in the Windows operating system. The vulnerability creates an attack surface where malicious actors can potentially substitute the legitimate system DLL with a maliciously crafted version, exploiting the application's trust in the loading process. This particular weakness falls under the category of DLL hijacking attacks, which are categorized as CWE-427 and CWE-428 within the CWE database, specifically addressing insecure library loading and untrusted search path vulnerabilities.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the application's on-demand DLL loading behavior, where the SAP Product Lifecycle Costing Client application attempts to load a system DLL from the local machine without proper validation of the DLL's authenticity or integrity. When the application searches for the required DLL, it follows a predictable search order that may include the current working directory, making it susceptible to manipulation by attackers who can place a malicious DLL with the same name in the application's execution path. The attack vector leverages the principle of least privilege by executing malicious code within the context of the SAP application process, potentially allowing for privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network. This technique aligns with ATT&CK tactics such as T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, as the malicious DLL executes commands with the privileges of the SAP application user.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is classified as low to confidentiality, indicating that successful exploitation could potentially lead to unauthorized data access or disclosure within the scope of the SAP application's operational context. However, the attack does not compromise the integrity or availability of the application itself, suggesting that while attackers can execute code within the application's process, they cannot directly modify application data or cause service disruption. The vulnerability primarily affects organizations using older versions of the SAP Product Lifecycle Costing Client, creating a persistent risk for enterprises that have not updated to the patched version. The low impact on integrity and availability suggests that the malicious code execution is limited in scope and does not provide the attacker with the ability to modify system files or cause application crashes, though the confidentiality breach could still pose significant risks to sensitive product costing data and business intelligence.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to SAP Product Lifecycle Costing Client version 4.7.1 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the insecure DLL loading behavior. Additional mitigations include implementing strict file system permissions on the application installation directories, monitoring for unauthorized DLL file modifications, and employing application whitelisting solutions to prevent execution of unauthorized DLLs. Security administrators should also consider network segmentation and monitoring for suspicious file creation or modification activities in the SAP application directories. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper DLL loading practices and highlights the need for organizations to maintain up-to-date software versions to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities. System administrators should conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify similar insecure loading patterns in other legacy applications that may be susceptible to similar attacks.