CVE-2024-9381: Ivanti CSA Path Traversal Vulnerability

CVE-2024-9381 Overview

CVE-2024-9381 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) affecting Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance (CSA) before version 5.0.2. This vulnerability allows a remote authenticated attacker with administrative privileges to bypass security restrictions through path traversal techniques, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive files and system resources beyond the intended scope.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers with admin privileges can leverage path traversal to bypass restrictions in Ivanti CSA, potentially accessing sensitive configuration files, credentials, or system resources outside the intended directory structure.

Affected Products

• Ivanti Endpoint Manager Cloud Services Appliance versions prior to 5.0.2
• Ivanti CSA (Cloud Services Appliance) all versions before 5.0.2

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-10-08 - CVE-2024-9381 published to NVD
• 2024-10-16 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-9381

Vulnerability Analysis

This path traversal vulnerability exists in the Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance (CSA), a critical component used for managing endpoints and cloud-based services in enterprise environments. The flaw allows authenticated administrators to escape intended directory restrictions by manipulating file paths with traversal sequences.

While the attack requires administrative authentication, the ability to bypass directory restrictions poses significant risk in scenarios involving compromised admin credentials, insider threats, or as part of a chained attack sequence. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to read or modify files outside the intended directories, potentially leading to further system compromise, data exfiltration, or persistence mechanisms.

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory), indicating that the application fails to properly sanitize or validate user-supplied path input before using it to access files on the system.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-9381 lies in insufficient input validation and sanitization of file path parameters within the Ivanti CSA application. The application does not adequately filter or neutralize special characters and sequences such as ../ (dot-dot-slash) that allow directory traversal. When an authenticated administrator supplies a crafted path containing these traversal sequences, the application processes the input without proper validation, allowing access to directories and files outside the intended restricted scope.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2024-9381 is network-based, requiring the attacker to have remote access to the Ivanti CSA administrative interface. The attack flow involves:

1. The attacker obtains valid administrative credentials for the Ivanti CSA instance
2. The attacker authenticates to the CSA administrative interface
3. The attacker crafts requests containing path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../etc/passwd)
4. The vulnerable application processes the malicious path without proper sanitization
5. The attacker gains unauthorized access to files or directories outside the intended scope

The vulnerability exploitation mechanism involves manipulating file path parameters in HTTP requests to the CSA interface. By injecting sequences such as ../ into path parameters, attackers can traverse the directory structure and access sensitive system files, configuration data, or other restricted resources. For detailed technical information, refer to the Ivanti Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-9381

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual file access patterns in CSA application logs, particularly requests containing path traversal sequences (../, ..%2f, %2e%2e/)
• Administrative session activity accessing files outside normal application directories
• Unexpected reads of sensitive system files such as /etc/passwd, configuration files, or credential stores
• Log entries showing access attempts to parent directories or system paths

Detection Strategies

• Deploy web application firewalls (WAF) with rules to detect and block path traversal patterns in requests
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical system files and directories to detect unauthorized access
• Review Ivanti CSA access logs for requests containing encoded or unencoded directory traversal sequences
• Monitor administrative authentication events for anomalous login patterns or credential compromise indicators

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging on Ivanti CSA instances and forward logs to a centralized SIEM for analysis
• Configure alerting for any file access attempts outside the CSA application's expected directory scope
• Establish baseline behavior for administrative access patterns and alert on deviations
• Monitor network traffic to CSA instances for suspicious HTTP request patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-9381

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance to version 5.0.2 or later immediately
• Review CSA access logs for any evidence of exploitation attempts or unauthorized file access
• Audit administrative accounts and ensure strong, unique credentials are in use
• Restrict network access to CSA administrative interfaces to trusted networks only
• Consider implementing additional network segmentation around CSA infrastructure

Patch Information

Ivanti has released version 5.0.2 of the Cloud Services Appliance which addresses this path traversal vulnerability. Organizations should immediately upgrade affected CSA instances to this version or later. The security update can be obtained through official Ivanti channels. For complete patch details and upgrade instructions, refer to the Ivanti Security Advisory.

Workarounds

• Implement strict network access controls limiting CSA administrative access to specific IP ranges or VPN connections only
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) in front of CSA instances with rules blocking path traversal patterns
• Review and remove any unnecessary administrative accounts to minimize attack surface
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative access to prevent credential-based attacks

# Example: Restrict administrative access using firewall rules
# Allow CSA admin access only from trusted management network
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.10.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP