CVE-2025-1056

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-1056 is a security advisory concerning an external control of file name or path vulnerability (CWE-73) in Axis Camera Station Pro software. A non-admin user can exploit a specific file the server uses to either create new files or modify the content of files in an admin-protected location. This flaw allows for privilege escalation and unauthorized file manipulation, potentially leading to configuration tampering or data corruption. The vulnerability was reported by Gee-netics through the Axis Camera Station Pro Bug Bounty Program. Axis has released a patched version; however, the exact patched version number is not publicly specified in the provided data. The CVSS score is 6.1 (Medium), and the EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation likelihood in the wild at this time.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. It is a proprietary software vulnerability in Axis Camera Station Pro, a video management software. The supply chain risk is limited to the software's update mechanism and the integrity of the patched version provided by Axis.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 6.1 (Medium)
• Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) - The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) - No special conditions are required for exploitation.
• Privileges Required (PR): Low (L) - An attacker needs a non-admin user account on the system.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) - No user interaction is required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) - The vulnerable component and the impacted component are the same.
• Confidentiality (C): None (N) - No impact on data confidentiality.
• Integrity (I): High (H) - An attacker can modify files in admin-protected locations, leading to significant integrity loss.
• Availability (A): None (N) - No impact on system availability.

Threat Level: Medium. The vulnerability requires authentication (low privileges) but allows for high integrity impact. The lack of public exploit code and low EPSS score reduces immediate risk, but the potential for file manipulation in admin areas is concerning.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in a specific file that the Axis Camera Station Pro server uses. The exact file name is not disclosed in the provided data, but it is likely a configuration file, a script, or a data file that the server processes with elevated privileges.

Mechanism:

1. Privilege Context: The server process runs with administrative privileges to manage system-level configurations.
2. File Reference: The server references a specific file (e.g., config.xml, settings.ini, or a custom binary) to read or execute operations.
3. Injection Point: A non-admin user can modify this file through a web interface, API, or local file system access (depending on the software's architecture). The server does not properly validate the file's path or content when processing it.
4. Exploitation: By altering the file's content or creating a new file with a malicious name, the attacker can force the server to:
   • Write arbitrary data to an admin-protected location (e.g., overwriting system configuration files).
   • Create new files in protected directories (e.g., adding a malicious script that will be executed by the server).
5. Impact: This can lead to persistent backdoors, configuration changes that disable security features, or data corruption.

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path, which occurs when a product allows user input to control or influence paths used in file system operations.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since the exact vulnerable file and patched version are not publicly available, the following is a hypothetical example based on common patterns.

Vulnerable Code (Python-like pseudocode):

import os

def process_user_file(user_input):
    # User input is used directly to construct a file path
    file_path = "/admin/config/" + user_input
    with open(file_path, 'w') as f:
        f.write("some data")

Patched Code:

import os

def process_user_file(user_input):
    # Sanitize user input to prevent path traversal
    safe_input = os.path.basename(user_input)
    file_path = "/admin/config/" + safe_input
    # Also validate that the file is within allowed list
    allowed_files = ["allowed_config.txt", "settings.ini"]
    if safe_input not in allowed_files:
        raise ValueError("Invalid file name")
    with open(file_path, 'w') as f:
        f.write("some data")

The patch likely involves:

• Input sanitization to remove path traversal characters (e.g., ../).
• Whitelisting allowed file names or paths.
• Running file operations with reduced privileges or using a sandbox.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Prerequisites:

• A non-admin user account on the Axis Camera Station Pro system.
• Network access to the server (e.g., via web interface or API).
• Knowledge of the vulnerable file path (e.g., through reconnaissance or documentation).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Reconnaissance: Identify the vulnerable file by analyzing the server's behavior or reading documentation. For example, the server might have a file named user_settings.json that is processed with admin privileges.
2. Craft Payload: Create a malicious payload that modifies the file to point to an admin-protected location. For example, change the file content to include a path traversal string like ../../admin/config/system.conf.
3. Execute: Use the non-admin user's credentials to send a request to the server that updates the vulnerable file with the malicious payload.
4. Trigger: The server processes the file, and the malicious path is used to write or create files in the admin-protected location.

Example Exploit (Python):

import requests

target_url = "https://axis-server/api/update_settings"
session = requests.Session()
session.auth = ("nonadmin_user", "password")

# Malicious payload to overwrite admin config
payload = {
    "file_name": "../../admin/config/system.conf",
    "content": "new_admin_password=attacker_password"
}

response = session.post(target_url, json=payload)
if response.status_code == 200:
    print("Exploit successful")

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor for unusual file modification requests from non-admin users.
• Log all file write operations and alert on writes to admin-protected directories.
• Use file integrity monitoring (FIM) to detect changes to critical system files.

Prevention:

• Apply the patch provided by Axis immediately.
• Implement strict input validation and path sanitization on the server side.
• Use the principle of least privilege for server processes.
• Enable logging and auditing for all file system operations.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• File Paths: Unusual writes to C:\ProgramData\Axis\Admin\* or /var/axis/admin/* from non-admin processes.
• Log Entries: Server logs showing file write operations to paths containing ../ or other traversal sequences.
• Network Traffic: POST requests to /api/update_settings or similar endpoints with suspicious file_name parameters.
• System Changes: Unexpected modifications to configuration files like system.conf, users.db, or security.policy.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_1056_File_Manipulation {
    meta:
        description = "Detects attempts to exploit CVE-2025-1056 by modifying files in admin-protected locations"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-1056"
    strings:
        $path_traversal = /\.\.\/[a-zA-Z0-9_\/]+/
        $admin_path = /admin\/[a-zA-Z0-9_\/]+/
    condition:
        $path_traversal and $admin_path
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-1056 File Manipulation Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects file write operations to admin-protected paths by non-admin users
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: file_event
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '\AxisCameraStationPro.exe'
        TargetFilename|contains: '\Admin\'
        User|endswith: '\nonadmin'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin operations (should be rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (msg:"CVE-2025-1056 File Manipulation Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"POST"; http_method; content:"/api/update_settings"; http_uri; content:"file_name"; nocase; pcre:"/\.\.\/[a-zA-Z0-9_\/]+/"; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Apply Patch: Update Axis Camera Station Pro to the latest patched version as per the Axis security advisory.
2. Restrict Access: Limit network access to the Axis server to trusted IPs only.
3. Review User Accounts: Audit all non-admin user accounts and remove unnecessary ones.

Long-Term Mitigations:

• Implement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on critical system files.
• Enable detailed logging and centralize logs for analysis.
• Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing.
• Follow the principle of least privilege for all user accounts and processes.

Workarounds (if patch cannot be applied immediately):

• Disable the vulnerable feature if possible.
• Use a web application firewall (WAF) to block requests with path traversal patterns.
• Manually restrict write permissions on the vulnerable file to admin users only.

Valters IT