CVE-2024-12356: BeyondTrust PRA RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-12356 Overview

A critical vulnerability has been discovered in Privileged Remote Access (PRA) and Remote Support (RS) products which can allow an unauthenticated attacker to inject commands that are run as a site user.

Critical Impact

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands remotely, potentially compromising the entire system.

Affected Products

• BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
• BeyondTrust Remote Support

Discovery Timeline

• Not Available - Vulnerability discovered by Not Available
• Not Available - Responsible disclosure to BeyondTrust
• Not Available - CVE CVE-2024-12356 assigned
• Not Available - BeyondTrust releases security patch
• 2024-12-17 - CVE CVE-2024-12356 published to NVD
• 2025-10-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-12356

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability involves command injection in BeyondTrust's software that can be exploited by unauthorized users. An attacker can exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary commands as a site user using crafted packets sent over the network.

Root Cause

The vulnerability stems from improper input validation in the command execution modules of impacted BeyondTrust products.

Attack Vector

The attack can be initiated remotely over the network by sending specially crafted packets to the vulnerable application.

# Example exploitation code (sanitized)
# This code snippet is illustrative and should not be used for malicious purposes.
import socket

payload = 'malicious_command'
s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
s.connect(('target_host', 12345))
s.send(payload.encode())
s.close()

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-12356

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected processes running as site user
• Unusual network traffic to BeyondTrust's applications
• Altered or added configurations within the affected applications

Detection Strategies

Utilize network monitoring tools to identify unusual traffic patterns to and from the BeyondTrust application services. Check system logs for anomalies and any unexplained commands executed.

Monitoring Recommendations

Set up alerts for unauthorized accesses and command executions on systems hosting BeyondTrust applications, focusing on logs that record user actions and process invocations.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-12356

Immediate Actions Required

• Immediately block network traffic to exposed instances of affected applications using firewall rules.
• Perform a comprehensive review of application logs to identify any signs of compromise.
• Temporarily disable vulnerable services if a compromise is detected until patches are applied.

Patch Information

Monitor the vendor advisory page BeyondTrust Advisory for updates on available patches.

Workarounds

While waiting for an official patch, implement strict network access controls to limit exposure of affected services. Ensure proper input validation and sanitation is enforced where possible.

# Configuration example
# Block all traffic to the vulnerable service port as a temporary fix.
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 12345 -j DROP