CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-39464NVD status: Analyzed

SCADA Data Gateway: Unquoted Search Path or Element

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2023-39464 is a high-severity unquoted search path or element vulnerability in SCADA Data Gateway from Triangle MicroWorks, with a CVSS 3.0 base score of 7.2 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. Affected SCADA Data Gateway versions: 5.1.3.20324. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.99% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 81% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of SCADA Data Gateway you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Triangle MicroWorksSCADA Data Gateway5.1.3.20324Not stated
Trianglemicroworksscada_data_gateway5.1.3.20324Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (trendmicro.com).

Official description

Triangle MicroWorks SCADA Data Gateway GTWWebMonitorService Unquoted Search Path Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute code on affected installations of Triangle MicroWorks SCADA Data Gateway. Although authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability, the existing authentication mechanism can be bypassed. The specific flaw exists within the configuration of the GTWWebMonitorService service. The path to the service executable contains spaces not surrounded by quotations. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-20538.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Unquoted Search Path or Element

The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access resources in a parent path.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Properly quote the full search path before executing a program on the system.
  • Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.

More Unquoted Search Path or Element vulnerabilities (CWE-428)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Third-party and government advisories

Other vulnerabilities in SCADA Data Gateway

All SCADA Data Gateway vulnerabilities

Recent Unquoted Search Path or Element vulnerabilities

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