CVE-2025-48749

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-48749 identifies a critical information disclosure vulnerability in Netwrix Directory Manager (formerly Imanami GroupID). The flaw allows an attacker to extract sensitive information from sent data, potentially exposing credentials, internal directory structures, or other confidential configuration details. The vulnerability affects version 11.0.0.0 and versions before and after v.11.1.25134.03. No official patch has been released, and no public proof-of-concept code is available at this time. The EPSS score is 0.0%, indicating low exploitation activity in the wild, but the risk remains high due to the sensitive nature of the exposed data.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to an open-source package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby). It affects a proprietary enterprise software product (Netwrix Directory Manager). Supply chain risks are limited to the software's distribution channels and update mechanisms.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

The CVSS score is listed as 0.0, which is likely a placeholder or uncalculated value. Based on the description, 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 is needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action is required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerability does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Sensitive information is exposed.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No data modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No impact on availability.

Estimated CVSS Score: 7.5 (High)

Threat Level: High – The vulnerability allows remote, unauthenticated access to sensitive data.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the data transmission mechanism of Netwrix Directory Manager. The software inserts sensitive information (e.g., credentials, directory paths, or internal IP addresses) into sent data packets without proper sanitization or encryption. This could occur in:

• API responses that include debug or error messages containing sensitive fields.
• Log files that are transmitted to a central server.
• Directory synchronization processes that leak internal structure.

The exact attack vector is not publicly documented, but it likely involves intercepting network traffic or sending crafted requests that trigger verbose error responses containing sensitive data.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

No official patch is available. The vulnerable versions are:

• Vulnerable: 11.0.0.0 and any version before or after v.11.1.25134.03 (including v.11.1.25134.03 itself).
• Patched: None confirmed.

Without access to the source code, a code comparison is not possible. The vendor has not released a security advisory or patch details.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Since no public exploit exists, a red team would need to perform reconnaissance and manual testing:

1. Setup: Deploy Netwrix Directory Manager v11.0.0.0 in a lab environment.
2. Reconnaissance: Use a proxy (e.g., Burp Suite) to intercept all traffic between the client and server.
3. Triggering: Send malformed requests (e.g., invalid credentials, malformed XML/JSON) to trigger error responses.
4. Analysis: Examine response bodies for sensitive data (e.g., password, secret, internal_ip).
5. Exploitation: If successful, extract credentials or directory structure for lateral movement.

Example Burp Suite Interception:

POST /api/authenticate HTTP/1.1
Host: target.com
Content-Type: application/json

{"username":"admin","password":"test"}

Expected vulnerable response (hypothetical):

{
  "error": "Authentication failed for user admin with password test",
  "internal_debug": "LDAP connection failed: cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com"
}

Blue Team (Defensive)

1. Network Monitoring: Deploy IDS/IPS rules to detect anomalous traffic patterns (see Detection Engineering).
2. Log Analysis: Monitor application logs for verbose error messages containing sensitive data.
3. Access Control: Restrict network access to the Directory Manager service to trusted IPs only.
4. WAF Rules: Implement web application firewall rules to block requests with suspicious payloads (e.g., SQL injection, path traversal).
5. Patching: Apply any vendor updates as soon as they become available.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network Traffic: Unusual HTTP responses containing strings like password, secret, internal_ip, or LDAP.
• Log Entries: Application logs showing verbose error messages with sensitive data.
• File Artifacts: Temporary files or debug logs containing exposed credentials.
• Process Anomalies: Unexpected outbound connections from the Directory Manager service to unknown IPs.

Example IOC (Network):

POST /api/authenticate HTTP/1.1
Response: {"error":"Invalid credentials for user admin with password P@ssw0rd"}

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_48749_Netwrix_Info_Disclosure {
    meta:
        description = "Detects sensitive information disclosure in Netwrix Directory Manager responses"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-48749"
    strings:
        $sensitive1 = /password[^}]*/i
        $sensitive2 = /secret[^}]*/i
        $sensitive3 = /internal_ip[^}]*/i
        $sensitive4 = /LDAP[^}]*/i
    condition:
        any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-48749 - Netwrix Directory Manager Sensitive Data Leak
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP responses containing sensitive information from Netwrix Directory Manager
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: netwrix_directory_manager
detection:
    selection:
        response_body|contains:
            - 'password'
            - 'secret'
            - 'internal_ip'
            - 'LDAP'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate error messages in development environments
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-48749 - Netwrix Directory Manager Sensitive Data Leak"; flow:to_server; content:"password"; http_response_body; sid:1000001; rev:1;)
alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-48749 - Netwrix Directory Manager Sensitive Data Leak"; flow:to_server; content:"secret"; http_response_body; sid:1000002; rev:1;)
alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-48749 - Netwrix Directory Manager Sensitive Data Leak"; flow:to_server; content:"internal_ip"; http_response_body; sid:1000003; rev:1;)
alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-48749 - Netwrix Directory Manager Sensitive Data Leak"; flow:to_server; content:"LDAP"; http_response_body; sid:1000004; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Actions:

   • Restrict network access to the Netwrix Directory Manager service using firewall rules.
   • Disable verbose error reporting in the application configuration.
   • Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to filter sensitive data in responses.

2. Long-term Fix:

   • Contact Netwrix support for an official patch or upgrade to a patched version (if available).
   • Conduct a code review to identify and sanitize all data transmission points.
   • Implement encryption (TLS) for all communications.

3. Monitoring:

   • Deploy the provided YARA, Sigma, and Suricata rules.
   • Enable detailed logging and alerting on suspicious HTTP responses.

Valters IT
DevSecOps & Cyber Threat Intelligence Expert
Report generated for CVE-2025-48749