CVE-2023-25589: ClearPass Policy Manager Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2023-25589 Overview

A critical authentication bypass vulnerability exists in the web-based management interface of Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager. This flaw allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to create arbitrary users on the platform without any prior credentials or authorization. The vulnerability stems from missing authentication controls (CWE-306) in the user management functionality, enabling attackers to gain administrative access and achieve total cluster compromise.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can create arbitrary users with administrative privileges, leading to complete cluster takeover and full control of the ClearPass Policy Manager environment.

Affected Products

• Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.0
• Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.1
• Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager (earlier versions per vendor advisory)

Discovery Timeline

• 2023-03-22 - CVE-2023-25589 published to NVD
• 2025-02-27 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2023-25589

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a severe authentication bypass in the ClearPass Policy Manager web-based management interface. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to access user creation functionality that should be restricted to authenticated administrators only. When exploited, an attacker can create arbitrary user accounts on the platform, including accounts with elevated privileges, without needing any prior authentication.

The successful exploitation of this vulnerability results in total cluster compromise, meaning an attacker gains complete control over the ClearPass Policy Manager deployment. This includes the ability to modify network access policies, view sensitive authentication data, and potentially pivot to other systems within the network infrastructure.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2023-25589 is classified as CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function. The web-based management interface fails to properly validate authentication before allowing access to user creation endpoints. This missing authentication check allows unauthenticated requests to reach and execute privileged functionality that should require administrator credentials.

The vulnerability indicates a design flaw where certain API endpoints or web interface functions were exposed without proper authentication gates, allowing remote attackers to bypass the intended security controls entirely.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires no user interaction, authentication, or special privileges to execute. An attacker with network access to the ClearPass Policy Manager web management interface can send specially crafted requests to create arbitrary user accounts.

The exploitation process involves:

1. Identifying the ClearPass Policy Manager web management interface on the network
2. Sending unauthenticated requests to the user creation endpoint
3. Creating a new administrative user account
4. Authenticating with the newly created credentials
5. Gaining full administrative access to the ClearPass cluster

Since no authentication is required and the attack complexity is low, this vulnerability is trivial to exploit once the target system is accessible. For detailed technical information, refer to the Aruba Networks Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2023-25589

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected user accounts appearing in ClearPass Policy Manager user lists
• User creation events in audit logs without corresponding administrator sessions
• Unauthenticated HTTP requests to user management API endpoints
• New administrative accounts with unfamiliar usernames or creation timestamps outside normal operations

Detection Strategies

• Monitor ClearPass audit logs for user creation events and correlate with authenticated administrator sessions
• Implement network-level monitoring for unusual traffic patterns to the ClearPass web management interface
• Deploy intrusion detection rules to identify unauthenticated requests to sensitive management endpoints
• Review user account listings regularly for unauthorized or suspicious accounts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging on ClearPass Policy Manager and forward logs to a SIEM solution
• Set up alerts for any user creation events occurring outside of scheduled maintenance windows
• Monitor network traffic to ClearPass management interfaces from unexpected source IP addresses
• Implement behavioral analytics to detect anomalous administrative actions

How to Mitigate CVE-2023-25589

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply the security patches referenced in Aruba Security Advisory ARUBA-PSA-2023-003 immediately
• Restrict network access to the ClearPass Policy Manager web management interface to trusted administrator networks only
• Audit all existing user accounts and remove any unauthorized or suspicious accounts
• Review audit logs for signs of prior exploitation

Patch Information

Aruba Networks has released security patches to address this vulnerability. Administrators should review the Aruba Networks Security Advisory ARUBA-PSA-2023-003 for specific patch versions and upgrade instructions. Upgrade to the latest patched version of ClearPass Policy Manager as specified in the vendor advisory.

Workarounds

• Implement strict network segmentation to limit access to ClearPass management interfaces
• Use firewall rules to restrict management interface access to specific authorized IP addresses or VLANs
• Consider disabling the web management interface if not required and use alternative management methods
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) in front of the management interface to filter malicious requests

# Example: Restrict management interface access using firewall rules
# Limit access to ClearPass management (port 443) from trusted admin network only
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP