CVE-2024-6980

Executive Summary

CVE-2024-6980 is a server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the Bitdefender GravityZone Update Server's proxy service, caused by verbose error handling. This issue affects on-premise deployments of GravityZone Console versions prior to 6.38.1-5. An attacker can exploit this flaw to force the server to make requests to internal or external resources, potentially leading to information disclosure or further network compromise. The vulnerability has a low EPSS score (0.0%) and no public proof-of-concept (PoC) or exploit code is currently available. No supply chain or package security implications exist as this is a proprietary enterprise product.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS score is listed as 0.0, indicating insufficient data for scoring. However, based on the nature of SSRF vulnerabilities, a reasonable assessment would be:

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N)
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L)
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N)
• User Interaction (UI): None (N)
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U)
• Confidentiality (C): High (H)
• Integrity (I): Low (L)
• Availability (A): None (N)
• Estimated CVSS v3.1 Score: 8.6 (High)

Threat Level: High. While no active exploitation is reported, the potential for internal network reconnaissance and data exfiltration is significant.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the proxy service of the GravityZone Update Server. Verbose error handling means that when the proxy encounters a malformed or malicious request, it returns detailed error messages that include internal server information or allow the attacker to manipulate the request destination. By crafting a request with a modified URL or host header, an attacker can cause the server to issue requests to arbitrary internal or external hosts, bypassing network restrictions.

Attack Flow:

1. The attacker sends a crafted HTTP request to the GravityZone Update Server's proxy endpoint.
2. The proxy service processes the request and, due to verbose error handling, returns detailed error information that includes the target URL or internal IP addresses.
3. The attacker uses this information to craft further requests that force the server to make requests to internal services (e.g., databases, cloud metadata endpoints) or external malicious servers.
4. The server's response to these requests is then reflected back to the attacker, enabling data exfiltration or lateral movement.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Pre-6.38.1-5): The proxy service likely uses a function that returns verbose error messages without sanitization. For example:

def handle_proxy_request(request):
    try:
        response = requests.get(request.url, timeout=5)
        return response.text
    except Exception as e:
        return f"Error: {e}"  # Verbose error leaks internal info

Patched Code (6.38.1-5+): The patched version sanitizes error messages and restricts the proxy to only allowed destinations:

def handle_proxy_request(request):
    if not is_allowed_url(request.url):
        return "Error: Invalid request"
    try:
        response = requests.get(request.url, timeout=5)
        return response.text
    except Exception as e:
        log_error(e)  # Log internally
        return "Error: Request failed"  # Generic error message

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Lab Setup:

• Install GravityZone Console version 6.38.1-4 (vulnerable) on a local VM.
• Configure the Update Server with default settings.
• Use a tool like Burp Suite or curl to interact with the proxy service.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the proxy endpoint (e.g., http://<target>:<port>/proxy).
2. Send a crafted request to trigger verbose error:

   curl -v "http://<target>:<port>/proxy?url=http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/"
   

3. Observe the error response for internal IPs or metadata.
4. Use the leaked information to pivot to internal services.

Note: No public exploit code is available; this is a theoretical approach.

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual outbound requests from the GravityZone server to internal IPs (e.g., 169.254.169.254, 10.0.0.0/8).
• Look for error messages containing URLs or IP addresses in logs.
• Use the Sigma rule below to detect verbose error patterns.

Mitigation:

• Immediately upgrade to version 6.38.1-5 or later.
• If patching is delayed, restrict outbound traffic from the Update Server using a firewall.
• Disable verbose error logging in the proxy service if possible.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network: Outbound requests from the GravityZone server to internal IP ranges (e.g., 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16) or cloud metadata endpoints (169.254.169.254).
• Logs: Error messages containing URLs, IP addresses, or stack traces in the proxy service logs.
• File: Unusual entries in the server's access logs showing url parameters with internal IPs.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2024_6980_Verbose_Error {
    meta:
        description = "Detects verbose error messages from GravityZone Update Server proxy"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2024-6980"
    strings:
        $error1 = "Error:" ascii wide nocase
        $error2 = "Exception" ascii wide nocase
        $url_pattern = /https?:\/\/[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}/ ascii wide
    condition:
        any of ($error*) and $url_pattern
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2024-6980 - GravityZone Verbose Error SSRF
id: 8a9b3c4d-5e6f-7a8b-9c0d-1e2f3a4b5c6d
status: experimental
description: Detects verbose error messages from GravityZone Update Server proxy indicating SSRF attempt
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: application
    product: gravityzone
detection:
    selection:
        EventID: 1000  # Example event ID for proxy errors
        Message|contains|all:
            - 'Error:'
            - 'http://'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate misconfigurations
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (msg:"CVE-2024-6980 - GravityZone SSRF Attempt"; flow:to_server; content:"GET"; http_method; content:"/proxy?url="; http_uri; content:"169.254.169.254"; http_uri; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Upgrade GravityZone Console to version 6.38.1-5 or later.
2. If patching is not possible, restrict network access to the Update Server using a firewall or network segmentation.
3. Disable verbose error messages in the proxy service configuration.

Long-Term Measures:

• Implement strict input validation for all proxy requests.
• Use allowlists for outbound destinations from the Update Server.
• Regularly review and update security patches for all on-premise components.

Valters IT