Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) that are enabled for remote connections or that are monitoring the traffic to and from the system may block the attacker from exploiting this vulnerability. In addition, application layer controls that are implemented, such as input validation, may help prevent attackers from accessing or executing code. Limitations in Windows PowerShell also limit what can be done with this vulnerability. Mitigation involves dropping privileges to the X_B parser. In addition, it may be possible to prevent unprivileged users from accessing the remote X_B file by allowing only trusted domains. End users should be advised to follow best security practices such as running anti-virus on their systems, limiting remote access, and installing updates to help protect against malicious software.
Vulnerability Details
An attacker may attempt to exploit a vulnerability in Windows PowerShell by sending specially crafted packets to a targeted system. The vulnerability is related to the x86-64 Assembly X_B parser in PowerShell 3.0 and later, and is due to improper validation of user input. An attacker may send specially crafted packets over an SMB connection or by using RDP. This vulnerability allows an attacker to cause remote code execution and take complete control of the affected system.
Vulnerability Details
A vulnerability in Windows PowerShell exploited by a malicious code injection technique known as an X-bit Trojans attack. This vulnerability is due to the way that Windows PowerShell does not properly validate input received from remote connections. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run commands on the target system, remotely control it, or gain access to sensitive data. In addition, the attacker could execute code on the target system and take full control of the affected system.
The following CVE IDs are associated with this vulnerability:
CVE-2022-40642
Vulnerability Scenario
The vulnerability is in Windows PowerShell. In order to exploit the vulnerability, the attacker must have access to the remote X_B file on a vulnerable system. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would create a malicious payload that could execute code on the target system.
Timeline
Published on: 09/15/2022 16:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 09/19/2022 18:23:00 UTC