CISA and FBI issue warning about path traversal vulnerabilities

The joint warning from CISA and FBI highlights the continued exploitation of path traversal vulnerabilities in attacks on critical infrastructure impacting sectors such as healthcare. The recent CVE-2024-1708 vulnerability in ConnectWise ScreenConnect is a prime example. This flaw, along with another vulnerability, was exploited to deploy ransomware and compromise systems.

What are Path Traversal Vulnerabilities?

Path traversal vulnerabilities, also known as directory traversal, are security holes that allow attackers to access unauthorized files or folders on a system. They achieve this by manipulating the way the application interprets file paths. This means attackers can exploit directory browsing vulnerabilities to create, overwrite, or delete critical files, leading to malicious code execution or bypassing authentication mechanisms. Additionally, in some scenarios, attackers can compromise the entire system by manipulating important files used for authentication. This could result in a complete lockout of legitimate users, causing disruption or even a complete halt in operations.

Current attacks and a call to action

Recent incidents have underscored the urgency of addressing these vulnerabilities. Campaigns by threat actors targeting critical infrastructure sectors such as healthcare and public health have exploited path traversal vulnerabilities to devastating effect. For example exploits like CVE-2024-1708 And CVE-2024-20345 have been used in ransomware attacks, endangering software users and causing widespread disruption.

To mitigate the risk posed by directory browsing vulnerabilities, software developers are urged to implement strict security measures. These include:

Sanitizing user input: Validate and limit characters allowed in user-supplied data used for file paths.

Random filenames: Use randomly generated identifiers for files instead of relying on user input.

Restrict file permissions: Make sure uploaded files do not have execute permissions.

Diploma

It’s worth noting that path traversal vulnerabilities are among the most dangerous software vulnerabilities according to MITER’s Top 25 list. Although they currently sit in eighth place, the threat they pose is significant and should not be underestimated. This highlights the urgent need for proactive measures to address such vulnerabilities and improve overall software security. By following the above guidelines and prioritizing secure coding practices, software developers can significantly reduce the risk of directory traversal vulnerabilities in their products.

Sources for this article include a story from BleepingComputer.

The post CISA and FBI Issue Alert on Path Traversal Vulnerabilities appeared first on TuxCare.

*** This is a syndicated blog from TuxCare’s Security Bloggers Network, written by Rohan Timalsina. Read the original post at: https://tuxcare.com/blog/cisa-and-fbi-issue-alert-on-path-traversal-vulnerabilities/