CVE-2018-7079 : Exploit Details and Defense Strategies

Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager experienced a guest authorization failure, allowing low-privilege users to access, modify, or delete guest user information.

Understanding CVE-2018-7079

What is CVE-2018-7079?

The vulnerability in Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager enables any authenticated administrative user to perform certain operations without proper privilege level enforcement, potentially leading to unauthorized access to guest user data.

The Impact of CVE-2018-7079

The vulnerability could result in unauthorized access, modification, or deletion of guest user information by users with low privileges.

Technical Details of CVE-2018-7079

Vulnerability Description

Certain administrative operations in ClearPass Guest do not correctly enforce authorization rules, allowing any authenticated administrative user to execute these operations regardless of privilege level.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager
Vendor: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Affected Versions: ClearPass 6.7.x prior to 6.7.6, ClearPass 6.6.10 and earlier without hotfix applied

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability allows low-privilege users to potentially access, alter, or remove guest user information.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Upgrade to version 6.7.6 or apply the 6.6.10-hotfix to mitigate the vulnerability.
Restrict access to administrative operations to authorized users only.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly review and update user privilege levels to ensure proper access control.
Implement multi-factor authentication for enhanced security.

Patching and Updates

Ensure timely installation of security patches and updates to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.