CVE-2025-24350 in ctrlX OS
Summary
by MITRE • 04/30/2025
A vulnerability in the “Certificates and Keys” functionality of the web application of ctrlX OS allows a remote authenticated (low-privileged) attacker to write arbitrary certificates in arbitrary file system paths via a crafted HTTP request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/30/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-24350 represents a critical path traversal and arbitrary file write flaw within the certificates and keys management component of ctrlX OS web applications. This issue affects the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the system, allowing an attacker who has already established a low-privileged account to escalate their privileges through file system manipulation. The flaw resides in how the application processes HTTP requests related to certificate management, specifically in the validation and sanitization of file paths provided by users during certificate import operations. According to CWE-22, this vulnerability maps directly to path traversal weaknesses where insufficient input validation enables attackers to write files outside of intended directories. The affected functionality in ctrlX OS demonstrates a dangerous lack of proper access control validation during certificate import processes, creating a potential attack vector that bypasses normal file system permissions and access controls.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires a remote authenticated attacker to craft a malicious HTTP request that includes specially formatted file paths designed to traverse the file system hierarchy. The flaw occurs during the certificate import workflow where the application fails to properly validate or sanitize user-provided file paths before executing file system write operations. Attackers can leverage this weakness to write malicious certificates or key files to critical system locations such as /etc/ssl/certs/, /etc/ssh/, or even system boot paths. The low-privileged nature of the initial access requirement means that an attacker who has already compromised a basic user account can use this vulnerability to gain deeper system access. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 which covers valid accounts and T1566.001 for phishing with a credential, as the initial compromise often occurs through social engineering or weak credential management. The attack chain typically involves gaining initial access through legitimate user credentials, then exploiting this certificate write vulnerability to establish persistent access or escalate privileges.
The operational impact of CVE-2025-24350 extends beyond simple privilege escalation to potentially enable complete system compromise. An attacker with write access to certificate directories can replace legitimate certificates with malicious ones, allowing for man-in-the-middle attacks, unauthorized system access, or the creation of backdoor certificates that persist across system reboots. The vulnerability can also be leveraged to modify SSH key files, compromising secure shell access to the system. Additionally, attackers can write certificates to system boot paths or update system trust stores, potentially enabling long-term persistence and system-wide compromise. The implications for industrial control systems using ctrlX OS are particularly severe as these environments often require high security and integrity. Organizations using this platform face potential disruptions to critical operations, data integrity breaches, and possible safety system compromise. The vulnerability can also be exploited in conjunction with other attack vectors to create more complex attack chains. According to NIST's vulnerability scoring system, this vulnerability would likely receive a high severity rating due to its remote exploitability and potential for privilege escalation, combined with the low barrier to entry for exploitation through existing authenticated access.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-24350 should include immediate implementation of proper input validation and sanitization for all file path parameters within certificate import workflows. Organizations must ensure that the application performs comprehensive path validation to prevent directory traversal attempts and restrict file system write operations to predefined, secure directories only. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit the scope of potential attacks, particularly by restricting access to certificate management functions to only authorized administrators. Regular security audits should be conducted to identify and remediate similar path traversal vulnerabilities in other system components. System administrators should implement file integrity monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized certificate changes and maintain detailed logging of all certificate management activities. The affected vendor should provide a security patch that addresses the input validation flaw in certificate handling processes, and organizations should prioritize applying this update as a critical security measure. Additional defensive measures include implementing principle of least privilege for user accounts, regular credential rotation, and network monitoring to detect anomalous certificate import activities. The vulnerability highlights the importance of secure coding practices and proper input validation, particularly in security-critical components like certificate management systems, as outlined in OWASP Top 10 2021 category A05: Security Misconfiguration.