CVE-2024-5957 in Intrusion Prevention System Manager
Summary
by MITRE • 09/05/2024
This vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain APIs access of the Manager.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/11/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-5957 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw that enables unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to administrative APIs within the Manager system. This weakness fundamentally undermines the security posture by allowing malicious actors to circumvent the standard authentication mechanisms without requiring valid credentials or prior access privileges. The vulnerability exists within the API access control implementation, where proper authentication checks fail to validate incoming requests, creating an entry point for unauthorized users to exploit.
From a technical perspective, this authentication bypass occurs at the API gateway or middleware level where the system should validate user credentials before granting access to privileged endpoints. The flaw likely manifests through improper session management, missing authentication headers validation, or flawed access control logic that fails to distinguish between legitimate and malicious requests. This type of vulnerability typically falls under CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 related to valid accounts and T1566.002 for spearphishing with social engineering. The vulnerability may also involve CWE-306 which covers missing authentication for critical functions, indicating that the system fails to properly secure API endpoints that should require authentication.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-5957 is severe and potentially catastrophic for organizations relying on the affected Manager system. Successful exploitation could enable attackers to perform administrative functions such as creating new user accounts, modifying system configurations, accessing sensitive data, or even disabling security controls. This unauthorized access could lead to complete system compromise, data breaches, and unauthorized modifications to critical infrastructure components. The remote nature of the vulnerability means that attackers can exploit it from anywhere on the internet without requiring physical access or prior network presence, significantly expanding the attack surface and reducing the time required to execute successful attacks. Organizations may face regulatory compliance violations, financial losses, and reputational damage if this vulnerability is exploited.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-5957 should prioritize immediate implementation of robust authentication controls and access validation mechanisms. Organizations must ensure that all API endpoints enforce proper authentication checks before processing requests, implement rate limiting to prevent abuse, and deploy comprehensive monitoring solutions to detect suspicious access patterns. Security measures should include enforcing multi-factor authentication for administrative functions, implementing proper API key management, and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities. Additionally, organizations should establish network segmentation to limit access to critical API endpoints, implement intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts, and maintain up-to-date security patches for the affected system components. The remediation process should involve thorough code review of authentication logic, implementation of proper input validation, and regular security testing including penetration testing and vulnerability scanning to prevent similar issues from arising in the future.