CVE-2024-5956 in Intrusion Prevention System Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 09/05/2024
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain partial data access to the vulnerable Trellix IPS Manager with garbage data in response mostly
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/07/2024
CVE-2024-5956 represents a critical authentication bypass vulnerability within the Trellix IPS Manager system that enables unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. This flaw resides in the application's handling of malformed or garbage data responses during authentication processes, creating a pathway for attackers to circumvent security controls without proper credentials. The vulnerability specifically affects the Trellix IPS Manager implementation where the system fails to properly validate input data, allowing malicious actors to inject corrupted data that manipulates the authentication flow. The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-287, which addresses authentication failures and improper authentication mechanisms. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending specially crafted requests containing garbage data that the system processes incorrectly, leading to unauthorized access to partial data sets within the IPS Manager environment. The impact extends beyond simple data access as this vulnerability can potentially enable further exploitation within the network infrastructure managed by Trellix IPS Manager, making it particularly dangerous for organizations relying on this security solution for intrusion prevention.
The operational implications of CVE-2024-5956 are severe given that it allows remote attackers to operate without authentication credentials, which violates fundamental security principles of access control and privilege management. This vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector that can be exploited from any location with network connectivity to the affected system, making it particularly attractive to threat actors seeking to compromise enterprise security infrastructure. The partial data access granted by this vulnerability means that attackers can potentially extract sensitive information such as network configurations, security policies, threat intelligence data, and other operational details that could be used for further attacks or to understand the organization's security posture. Organizations using Trellix IPS Manager may find their intrusion prevention capabilities compromised as attackers can potentially manipulate or disable security policies through this authentication bypass mechanism. The vulnerability's exploitation does not require any specialized tools or deep technical knowledge, making it accessible to a broad range of threat actors from script kiddies to sophisticated adversaries. This characteristic significantly amplifies the risk to organizations that have not yet patched or mitigated this vulnerability, as it represents a low-effort, high-impact attack vector.
Security professionals should prioritize immediate remediation of CVE-2024-5956 through official patches provided by Trellix, as the vulnerability creates an unauthenticated access pathway that can lead to significant data breaches and system compromise. The mitigation strategy should include implementing network segmentation to limit access to the Trellix IPS Manager system, deploying additional monitoring controls to detect anomalous authentication patterns, and conducting comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing temporary access controls such as restricting network access to the IPS Manager from specific IP ranges or implementing additional authentication layers. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access and privilege escalation, specifically targeting the initial access phase where attackers establish footholds within the network. The vulnerability's characteristics align with TTPs that exploit weak authentication mechanisms and improper input validation, which are commonly observed in advanced persistent threat campaigns. Security teams should enhance their incident response procedures to include detection of potential exploitation attempts related to this vulnerability, particularly monitoring for unusual data access patterns or authentication anomalies that may indicate successful exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to verify the effectiveness of implemented mitigations and to ensure that the vulnerability has been properly addressed across all affected systems within the organization's infrastructure.