CVE-2024-11482

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-11482 is a critical vulnerability in Trellix Enterprise Security Manager (ESM) version 11.6.10 that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to access an internal Snowservice API and achieve remote code execution (RCE) as the root user through command injection. The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 9.8, indicating critical severity, and affects organizations running Trellix ESM 11.6.10 in their security operations environments. With no known patch currently available, this vulnerability represents an active risk to enterprise security infrastructure — an ironic but dangerous target for adversaries seeking to blind or manipulate the very systems meant to detect their activities.

Technical Analysis

The NVD description for CVE-2024-11482 identifies two interrelated weaknesses in Trellix ESM 11.6.10: (1) unauthenticated access to an internal Snowservice API, and (2) remote code execution via command injection executed with root privileges.

The first element indicates that the Snowservice API endpoint does not enforce authentication controls. This means an attacker with network reachability to the affected service can invoke API methods without presenting any credentials, session tokens, or other identity verification. The Snowservice API, based on its naming convention, is likely an internal service responsible for managing scheduled tasks, data aggregation, or service orchestration within ESM. Its exposure without authentication represents a fundamental access-control failure.

The second element — command injection — suggests that the API accepts user-supplied input that is subsequently passed to an operating system shell or command execution context without proper sanitization or parameterization. The injection point likely resides in API parameters that map directly to system commands or script invocations. Because commands execute with root privileges, the attacker obtains full administrative control over the underlying operating system.

The combination of these two flaws creates a critical chained attack: authentication bypass grants access to the injection-capable API, and the injection capability escalates the access to full remote code execution. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) confirms the attack requires no privilege and no user interaction; the only precondition is network accessibility to the ESM service. Note that insufficient technical detail is available regarding the specific API endpoint paths, parameter names, or the exact commands that can be injected. The vulnerability class is consistent with CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command), though the official CWE assignment for this CVE is not specified in the provided data.

Exploitation Scenarios

Given the unauthenticated nature of this vulnerability, the attack chain proceeds as follows:

Step 1: Reconnaissance and Target Identification — An attacker identifies Trellix ESM instances by scanning for typical ESM management ports or web-accessible interfaces. Organizations running ESM 11.6.10 in their SIEM or security management stack are the primary targets. Shodan and other internet-facing search engines may reveal exposed instances. Internal attackers can also pivot to ESM servers within the network after initial foothold.

Step 2: Triggering the Authentication Bypass — The attacker sends unauthenticated requests to the internal Snowservice API. Because the API lacks authentication controls, the requests are processed without challenge. The attacker enumerates API functionality to identify endpoints that accept command-related parameters (e.g., task scheduling, configuration setting, or utility invocation functions).

Step 3: Command Injection Payload Delivery — The attacker crafts a malicious payload containing shell metacharacters (e.g., semicolons, pipes, command substitution operators, or inline script syntax) within an API parameter value. The injected commands are interpreted by the underlying shell when the API constructs legitimate commands using unsanitized input. Since execution occurs with root privileges, arbitrary commands run without restriction. No public PoC is available for this CVE; the attack chain is inferred from the vulnerability class described in the NVD entry.

Step 4: Post-Exploitation — With root access, the attacker can: (a) exfiltrate security event data and logs stored by ESM, (b) disable or falsify security monitoring to evade detection, (c) use the compromised ESM server as a pivot point for lateral movement to other security infrastructure, (d) install persistent backdoors or rootkits, or (e) leverage the compromised system's trusted position to attack other network segments. The root execution context eliminates privilege escalation requirements and grants full read/write access to the filesystem, credentials, and configuration stores.

Impact Assessment

The CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 categorizes this vulnerability as critical, with the maximum possible impact scores across confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). The attack vector is network-based (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring no privileges (PR:N) and no user interaction (UI:N).

The business impact is severe for several reasons:

• Security Blindness: ESM is a security management platform; compromising it blinds the organization's ability to detect and respond to other attacks while simultaneously providing the attacker with visibility into the organization's security posture and detection rules.
• Trusted Position: The compromised ESM server can push configuration or policy changes to managed security components, enabling supply-chain style attacks on downstream infrastructure.
• Lateral Movement: Security management servers frequently have privileged network access to other systems for log collection and management, making them prime pivots for network compromise.
• Compliance Failure: The unauthenticated RCE would breach compliance requirements across PCI-DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and industry-specific regulations.
• Data Exposure: Event logs, alert data, and potentially credentials stored within ESM could be exfiltrated.

The EPSS score of 0.02544 (83.5th percentile) indicates moderate probability of exploitation in the wild relative to other known CVEs, highlighting the need for urgency despite the currently unknown public PoC status.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Trellix ESM Snowservice API Unauthenticated Command Injection Attempt
id: 9f8c2d4e-5a6b-4c7d-8e9f-0a1b2c3d4e5f
status: experimental
description: Detects potential exploitation of CVE-2024-11482 targeting Trellix ESM Snowservice API with command injection payloads
author: Valtersit Threat Intelligence
date: 2024/11/15
tags:
    - attack.t1190
    - attack.execution
    - cve.2024.11482
    - trellix.esm
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    definition: Web server logs from the Trellix ESM web interface or API gateway
detection:
    selection_snowservice:
        cs-uri-path|contains:
            - 'snowservice'
            - 'SnowService'
    selection_injection:
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - ';'
            - '|'
            - '&&'
            - '||'
            - '$('
            - '`'
            - '%3B'
            - '%7C'
            - '%26%26'
            - '%24%28'
            - '%60'
        cs-uri-query|re:
            - '/(ping|id|whoami|cat|wget|curl|nc|bash|sh|python|perl|/bin/)/'
    selection_auth:
        cs-username: '-'
    condition: selection_snowservice and selection_injection and selection_auth
    timeframe: 1h
level: critical
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate administrative tasks that may use command-like parameters
    - Internal monitoring integrations
fields:
    - src_ip
    - src_port
    - cs_user_agent
    - cs_uri_stem
    - cs_uri_query
    - sc_status

YARA Rule

rule Trellix_ESM_Snowservice_Command_Injection
{
    meta:
        author = "Valtersit Threat Intelligence"
        description = "Detects command injection payloads targeting Trellix ESM Snowservice API"
        cve = "CVE-2024-11482"
        date = "2024-11-15"
        severity = "critical"
    strings:
        $s1 = "snowservice" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "SnowService" ascii wide nocase
        $cmd1 = ";/bin/" ascii wide
        $cmd2 = ";cat " ascii wide
        $cmd3 = "|sh" ascii wide
        $cmd4 = "|bash" ascii wide
        $cmd5 = "$(" ascii wide
        $cmd6 = ";wget " ascii wide
        $cmd7 = ";curl " ascii wide
        $cmd8 = ";nc " ascii wide
        $cmd9 = "`id`" ascii wide
        $cmd10 = ";python" ascii wide
        $cmd11 = ";perl" ascii wide
        $cmd12 = ";whoami" ascii wide
        $cmd13 = ";uname" ascii wide
        $cmd14 = "&&id" ascii wide
        $cmd15 = "|id" ascii wide
        $cmd16 = "root:" ascii wide
    condition:
        any of ($s*) and any of ($cmd*) and filesize < 10MB
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (msg:"ET EXPLOIT Trellix ESM Snowservice Command Injection Attempt (CVE-2024-11482)"; flow:established,to_server; content:"snowservice"; nocase; http_uri; pcre:"/(?:;\s*(?:cat|id|whoami|wget|curl|nc|bash|sh|python|perl|uname)\b|\$\s*\(|\|\s*sh\b|\|\s*bash\b|&&\s*(?:id|whoami|cat)\b|`[^`]+`)/i"; reference:cve,2024-11482; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:4200001; rev:1; metadata:created_at 2024_11_15, updated_at 2024_11_15;)

alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (msg:"ET EXPLOIT Trellix ESM Snowservice Unauthenticated Access Attempt (CVE-2024-11482)"; flow:established,to_server; content:"/snowservice/settings"; nocase; http_uri; pcre:"/\?[^&\s]*(?:command|cmd|exec|task|script|run)[^&\s]*="; reference:cve,2024-11482; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:4200002; rev:1; metadata:created_at 2024_11_15, updated_at 2024_11_15;)

Elastic Detection

// Detect HTTP requests targeting Snowservice API without authentication
sequence by source.ip
  with maxspan=10s
  [network where event.type == "start" and direction == "ingress"
   and destination.port in (80, 443, 8443, 4433)
   and http.request.body.text : "*snowservice*"]
  [process where event.type == "start"
   and process.name in ("bash", "sh", "java", "python", "perl")
   and process.command_line : ("*;*", "*&&*", "*||*", "*|*", "*$(*", "*`*")
   and process.working_directory : "*esm*"]

Splunk SPL Query

index=main sourcetype=access_combined
  (uri_path="*snowservice*" OR uri_path="*SnowService*")
  (
    (uri_query="*%3B*" OR uri_query="*%7C*" OR uri_query="*%26%26*" OR uri_query="*%24%28*" OR uri_query="*%60*")
    OR (uri_query="*;*" OR uri_query="*|*" OR uri_query="*&&*" OR uri_query="*$( *")
  )
  OR
index=main sourcetype=linux_secure
  (user=root)
  NOT (process_name="/usr/sbin/sshd" OR process_name="systemd")
| eval command_execution="possible CVE-2024-11482 exploitation"
| table _time, src_ip, dest_ip, uri_path, uri_query, http_user_agent, process_name, command_line, uid, euid
| sort - _time
| stats count by src_ip, dest_ip, uri_path, uri_query
| where count > 3

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="trellix, esm, exploitation,">
  <rule id="120001" level="15">
    <decoded_as>json</decoded_as>
    <field name="url">snowservice</field>
    <match>snowservice</match>
    <regex>(;\s*(cat|id|whoami|wget|curl|nc|bash|sh|python|perl)\b|\$\s*\(|\|\s*(sh|bash)\b|&&\s*(id|whoami|cat)\b)</regex>
    <description>Trellix ESM Snowservice API request with command injection metacharacters detected (CVE-2024-11482)</description>
    <group>attack.t1190,attack.execution,cve-2024-11482,</group>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1190</id>
    </mitre>
  </rule>

  <rule id="120002" level="12">
    <decoded_as>json</decoded_as>
    <field name="url">snowservice</field>
    <match>snowservice</match>
    <regex>/snowservice/(settings|config|task|execute|command|run|script)</regex>
    <description>Trellix ESM Snowservice API unauthenticated access with sensitive endpoint (CVE-2024-11482)</description>
    <group>attack.t1190,cve-2024-11482,</group>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1190</id>
    </mitre>
  </rule>

  <rule id="120003" level="10">
    <decoded_as>json</decoded_as>
    <field name="url">snowservice</field>
    <match>snowservice</match>
    <regex>^\/snowservice\/(?!.*[A-Za-z0-9])</regex>
    <description>Trellix ESM Snowservice API access with Authorization header absent - potential auth bypass</description>
    <group>attack.t1190,cve-2024-11482,</group>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1190</id>
    </mitre>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch Confidence: 0/4 — UNPATCHED — no patch evidence from any tracked source.

1) Immediate Mitigations:

• Network Segmentation: Restrict network access to ESM 11.6.10 servers to only authorized administrative workstations via firewall rules or network access control lists. Do not expose the ESM management interface or Snowservice API to the internet or untrusted network segments.
• Enable Authentication Enforcement: Where possible, configure reverse proxy or API gateway layer to enforce authentication before requests reach the Snowservice API, compensating for the vulnerable service's lack of built-in auth.
• Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy WAF rules to block requests to the Snowservice API that contain command injection metacharacters (;, |, &&, $(, backticks) or that target command-related parameters.
• Access Control Lists: Restrict HTTP(S) access to ESM web interface to a limited set of known-good IP addresses.
• Monitor for Anomalous Traffic: Deploy the detection rules provided in this report to identify active exploitation attempts. Pay particular attention to events showing unauthenticated POST/GET requests to any path containing "snowservice."

2) Patch/Upgrade Steps:

• Monitor Trellix's official security advisories and support portal for a patched release addressing CVE-2024-11482. As of this report, no patch is available.
• Subscribe to Trellix security notifications to receive immediate alerts when a fix is released.
• Test and deploy the vendor patch in a staging environment prior to production rollout when available.

3) Long-Term Hardening:

• Principle of Least Privilege: Ensure ESM services run with the minimum privileges required, rather than root. This limits the impact of future RCE vulnerabilities.
• Secure Deployment Architecture: Place ESM servers in a dedicated management VLAN with strict egress controls and no direct internet exposure.
• Regular Security Reviews: Conduct periodic review of firewall rules and access lists governing access to security management infrastructure.
• Credentials Management: If ESM stores credentials or secrets, rotate them following a compromise event and consider using a secrets vault.
• Harden the Underlying OS: Apply OS-level hardening, host-based intrusion detection (HIDS), and file integrity monitoring on ESM hosts.
• Maintain Configuration Baseline: Document and validate ESM configuration changes to detect unauthorized modification through the Snowservice API.

References

1. NVD Entry — CVE-2024-11482: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-11482 (Official NVD record — provides the vulnerability description, CVSS score of 9.8, and analysis information.)

2. Trellix Security Advisories: https://www.trellix.com/support/trust-center/ (Official vendor security center — monitor for patched releases and mitigation guidance for ESM 11.6.10.)

3. CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog (CVE-2024-11482 is NOT currently listed in KEV — no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation at time of writing.)

4. MITRE ATT&CK — Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190): https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1190/ (Relevant ATT&CK technique for categorizing this vulnerability's exploitation method.)

5. FIRST EPSS — CVE-2024-11482: https://www.first.org/epss/ (EPSS score of 0.02544, 83.5th percentile, indicating elevated exploitation probability in real-world conditions.)

Threat Actor Campaigns / In-the-Wild Evidence: No confirmed threat actor campaigns or exploit-in-the-wild activity have been publicly documented for CVE-2024-11482 as of the date of this report. CISA has not added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. However, given the critical severity, the low complexity of exploitation, and the appeal of security management infrastructure as a target, organizations should treat the vulnerability as actively exploitable and implement immediate mitigation controls.