CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2024-13981NVD status: Deferred

LiveBOS: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2024-13981 is a critical-severity improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability in LiveBOS from Fujian Apex Software, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 10.0 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected LiveBOS versions: pre-August 2024 builds and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.9% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 60% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of LiveBOS you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Fujian Apex SoftwareLiveBOSpre-August 2024 builds and earlierNot 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.
Attack requirements
NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
Integrity (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
Availability (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
Confidentiality (other systems)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Integrity (other systems)
HighSerious loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Availability (other systems)
HighSerious loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (vulncheck.com).

Official description

LiveBOS, an object-oriented business architecture middleware suite developed by Apex Software Co., Ltd., contains an arbitrary file upload vulnerability in its UploadFile.do;.js.jsp endpoint. This flaw affects the LiveBOS Server component and allows unauthenticated remote attackers to upload crafted files outside the intended directory structure via path traversal in the filename parameter. Successful exploitation may lead to remote code execution on the server, enabling full system compromise. The vulnerability is presumed to affect builds released prior to August 2024 and is said to be remediated in newer versions of the product, though the exact affected range remains undefined. Exploitation evidence was first observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2024-08-23 UTC.

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

The underlying weakness: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth.

More Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities (CWE-22)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory vulnerabilities

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