CVE-2023-27856 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

This CVE-2023-27856 involves Rockwell Automation's ThinManager ThinServer being vulnerable to path traversal, allowing an unauthenticated remote attacker to download arbitrary files on the disk drive. Security researchers from Tenable discovered and reported this vulnerability to Rockwell Automation.

Understanding CVE-2023-27856

This section delves into the details and impacts of the CVE-2023-27856 vulnerability.

What is CVE-2023-27856?

In affected versions of Rockwell Automation's ThinManager ThinServer, a path traversal vulnerability exists when processing a message of type 8. This flaw enables attackers to exploit the system remotely without authentication, leading to the unauthorized download of files onto the disk drive where ThinServer.exe is located.

The Impact of CVE-2023-27856

The Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) identifier for this vulnerability is CAPEC-126, Path Traversal. With a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (High severity), it poses a significant risk. The confidentiality impact is high, while there is no impact on availability or integrity. The attack complexity is low, requiring no privileges or user interaction, and the attack vector is through the network.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-27856

This section provides insights into the vulnerability's technical aspects.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability arises due to improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory ('Path Traversal') in the affected versions of ThinManager ThinServer.

Affected Systems and Versions

The following versions of ThinManager ThinServer are affected:

6.x - 10.x
11.0.0 - 11.0.5
11.1.0 - 11.1.5
11.2.0 - 11.2.6
12.0.0 - 12.0.4
12.1.0 - 12.1.5
13.0.0 - 13.0.1

Exploitation Mechanism

By exploiting the path traversal vulnerability in ThinManager ThinServer, remote attackers can manipulate file paths and download unauthorized files onto the system without authentication.

Mitigation and Prevention

To safeguard systems from CVE-2023-27856, immediate actions and long-term security practices are essential.

Immediate Steps to Take

Users are advised to update to the latest versions of ThinManager ThinServer as per the provided reference article.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement strict access controls and authentication mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access and file downloads.
Regularly monitor and patch vulnerabilities in the system to stay protected against potential threats.