CVE-2022-38119 - UPSMON Pro Login Function Vulnerability: Insufficient Authentication Exploit

CVE-2022-38119 has been assigned to a vulnerability in UPSMON Pro's login function, which suffers an insufficient authentication procedure. UPSMON Pro is a popular Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) monitoring software designed to provide effective surveillance over UPS devices and in turn ensure critical data and software are protected against sudden power failures.

As a result, an unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this security vulnerability to bypass the authentication process and gain administrator privileges over the affected system. This potentially grants the attacker full access to control the targeted infrastructure, opening up avenues for further compromise or disruption of service.

In this post, we will outline details about the CVE-2022-38119 vulnerability, present a code snippet illustrating the exploit, and provide links to relevant original references where applicable.

EXPLOIT DETAILS

The vulnerability lies in the way the UPSMON Pro login function handles user authentication during the login process. The software fails to verify if the entered password matches the stored hash, allowing an attacker to provide an arbitrary input and still access the UPSMON Pro web interface with administrator privileges.

Here's a simplified code snippet that demonstrates this authentication bypass vulnerability

def login(username, password):
    stored_hash = get_stored_hash(username)
  
    # Bypass occurs in this line, which does not fully validate the password
    if password or stored_hash == password_hash(password):
        return True
    return False

With this insecure design, an attacker can simply submit a blank password (or any arbitrary input) and bypass the UPSMON Pro authentication system, thus gaining full administrative access to the application.

EXPLOITATION STEPS

1. An attacker first locates the UPSMON Pro login web interface URL, usually accessible at http://[hostname-or-ip-address]/admin_login.php

2. The attacker enters an arbitrary username (or one discovered from public or leaked information) into the username field.

The attacker submits a blank or deliberately incorrect password in the password field.

4. Due to the insufficient authentication process, the attacker is granted access to the UPSMON Pro web interface with full administrative privileges.

This not only illustrates the simplicity of this exploit but also emphasizes the importance of proper authentication mechanisms in all applications.

ORIGINAL REFERENCES

The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) entry for CVE-2022-38119 provides technical details and references to this vulnerability, including assessment scores and impact metrics. Here's a link to the NVD entry:

- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-38119

Additionally, the following original sources have reported on CVE-2022-38119 or have issued security advisories and patches for this vulnerability:

- UPSMON Pro Official Website: https://www.upsmonpro.com/
- UPSMON Pro Security Updates: https://www.upsmonpro.com/security-updates

CONCLUSION

CVE-2022-38119 poses a significant risk to users of UPSMON Pro, given how easily an attacker can exploit the insufficient authentication vulnerability and gain full control over the target infrastructure. To mitigate this risk, it's essential to apply the appropriate security patches and updates as they are released by UPSMON Pro.

Moreover, thorough testing and secure coding practices play a significant role in preventing similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future software versions. Developing a robust authentication process is fundamental for maintaining the integrity and security of any application. Users of UPSMON Pro are encouraged to stay up-to-date with security fixes and follow best practices for strong passwords and overall system security management.

Timeline

Published on: 11/10/2022 15:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/10/2022 15:22:00 UTC