CVE-2024-44450

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-44450 is an authorization bypass vulnerability affecting AIMS eCrew, a crew management application. The vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass authorization checks across multiple functions, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data or actions. The issue was addressed in version JUN23 #190, but no public proof-of-concept or exploit code is currently available. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation activity in the wild.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS score is listed as 0.0, which is likely a placeholder or unassigned. Based on the nature of the vulnerability (Authorization Bypass), a reasonable CVSS v3.1 vector would be:

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – The vulnerability can be exploited remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerable component remains the same.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Sensitive data could be exposed.
• Integrity (I): High (H) – Data could be modified.
• Availability (A): Low (L) – Limited impact on availability.

Estimated CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Estimated Base Score: 9.1 (Critical)

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability lies in the authorization logic of AIMS eCrew. Multiple functions fail to properly verify that the requesting user has the necessary permissions to perform the requested action. This could be due to:

• Missing or improper role-based access control (RBAC) checks.
• Insecure direct object references (IDOR) allowing access to other users' data.
• Session validation flaws that allow privilege escalation.

An unauthenticated or low-privileged attacker could exploit this by crafting HTTP requests to sensitive endpoints, bypassing the intended authorization checks.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

No specific code snippets are available. However, the fix in version JUN23 #190 likely involves:

• Adding authorization checks before executing sensitive functions.
• Validating user roles and permissions for each API endpoint.
• Implementing proper session management and token validation.

Vulnerable Code (Hypothetical):

def get_crew_data(crew_id):
    # No authorization check
    return database.query("SELECT * FROM crew WHERE id = ?", crew_id)

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

def get_crew_data(crew_id, user):
    if not user.has_permission('view_crew'):
        raise PermissionDenied()
    return database.query("SELECT * FROM crew WHERE id = ?", crew_id)

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Lab Setup:

1. Deploy a vulnerable instance of AIMS eCrew (pre-JUN23 #190) in a controlled environment.
2. Use tools like Burp Suite or Postman to intercept and modify requests.
3. Identify endpoints that lack authorization checks (e.g., /api/crew, /api/schedule).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Send a GET request to a sensitive endpoint without authentication:

   curl -X GET http://target-ecrew/api/crew/all
   

2. If the response returns data without requiring a valid session, the vulnerability is confirmed.
3. Attempt to access other users' data by manipulating parameters (IDOR):

   curl -X GET http://target-ecrew/api/crew/12345
   

4. Escalate privileges by modifying user roles via unprotected endpoints.

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual access patterns to sensitive API endpoints.
• Alert on requests to /api/crew or similar without proper authentication tokens.
• Use the Sigma rule below to detect unauthorized access attempts.

Mitigation:

• Immediately update to version JUN23 #190 or later.
• Implement strict RBAC and validate permissions on every request.
• Use Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block suspicious requests.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network IOCs:

  • Unusual HTTP requests to /api/crew, /api/schedule, or similar endpoints.
  • Requests with missing or invalid session tokens.
  • Repeated attempts to access different crew IDs (IDOR scanning).

• File IOCs:

  • Log entries showing 403 Forbidden followed by 200 OK for the same endpoint.
  • Error logs indicating PermissionDenied exceptions (if patched).

• Behavioral IOCs:

  • Anomalous access patterns from a single IP address.
  • Requests to multiple endpoints in rapid succession.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule Detect_AIMS_eCrew_Authorization_Bypass {
    meta:
        description = "Detects attempts to exploit CVE-2024-44450 in AIMS eCrew"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-44450"
    strings:
        $s1 = "/api/crew" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "/api/schedule" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "Authorization" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "Bearer" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        any of ($s1, $s2) and not $s3 and not $s4
}

Sigma Rule

title: AIMS eCrew Authorization Bypass Attempt
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012
status: experimental
description: Detects unauthorized access to AIMS eCrew API endpoints
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
references:
    - https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-44450
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_combined
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-stem:
            - '/api/crew*'
            - '/api/schedule*'
        sc-status: 200
    filter:
        cs(Cookie): 'session=*'
    condition: selection and not filter
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate API calls with valid sessions
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> $HOME_NET any (msg:"AIMS eCrew Authorization Bypass Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"/api/crew"; http_uri; nocase; content:"/api/schedule"; http_uri; nocase; pcre:"/^(?!.*Authorization)/i"; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Action: Update AIMS eCrew to version JUN23 #190 or later.
2. Workaround: If patching is not possible, implement a WAF rule to block requests to sensitive API endpoints without proper authentication.
3. Long-term: Conduct a security audit of all authorization logic in the application. Implement role-based access control (RBAC) and ensure every function validates user permissions.
4. Monitoring: Enable detailed logging for all API requests and set up alerts for unauthorized access attempts.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers