CVE-2026-44925 Overview
CVE-2026-44925 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability [CWE-352] affecting Veritas InfoScale 9.1.3 Operations Manager (VIOM). An attacker can trick an authenticated VIOM user into clicking a malicious HTML link, causing the browser to issue forged state-changing requests to the VIOM web application. The forged requests execute under the victim's active session and perform unintended modifications without user consent. The flaw is reachable from an adjacent network and requires no authentication on the attacker side, only user interaction by the victim.
Critical Impact
Successful exploitation lets an attacker invoke privileged VIOM operations on behalf of an authenticated administrator, impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability of managed storage infrastructure.
Affected Products
- Veritas InfoScale 9.1.3
- InfoScale Operations Manager (VIOM) web application
- Deployments exposing the VIOM console to adjacent network users
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-05-20 - CVE-2026-44925 published to NVD
- 2026-05-20 - Last updated in NVD database
- Vendor advisory published in the InfoScale Security Bulletin for CVE-2026-44923, CVE-2026-44924, and CVE-2026-44925
Technical Details for CVE-2026-44925
Vulnerability Analysis
The VIOM web application accepts state-changing HTTP requests without verifying that the request originated from the legitimate VIOM user interface. When an authenticated administrator visits an attacker-controlled page on an adjacent network, the browser automatically attaches the active VIOM session cookie to outbound requests targeting the VIOM application. The server processes those requests as if the administrator initiated them.
Because VIOM manages storage, clustering, and replication assets, forged actions can alter configuration, modify monitored hosts, or trigger administrative workflows. The attack does not require credential theft or session hijacking. The vulnerability is constrained to attackers with adjacent network access to the VIOM console, which typically means the same management LAN or VPN segment.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or inadequate CSRF protection [CWE-352] on VIOM endpoints. The application does not validate anti-CSRF tokens, verify the Origin or Referer headers, or require SameSite cookie semantics that would block cross-site request inclusion. Authentication state is tracked solely through ambient session cookies.
Attack Vector
An attacker hosts a malicious HTML page containing an auto-submitting form or image tag that targets a sensitive VIOM endpoint. The attacker then lures a VIOM administrator on the adjacent network to load the page, for example through phishing or a watering hole. The victim's browser issues the forged request with the session cookie attached, and VIOM executes the requested modification. See the Veritas Documentation Update for endpoint-level details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-44925
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected configuration changes, host additions, or policy modifications in VIOM audit logs that do not align with administrator activity windows.
- VIOM web access logs showing state-changing POST or PUT requests with Referer headers pointing to external or unknown origins.
- User reports of unsolicited links or pages opened immediately before unauthorized VIOM changes appear.
Detection Strategies
- Hunt web server access logs for VIOM requests where the Referer or Origin header is absent or does not match the trusted VIOM hostname.
- Correlate VIOM administrative actions with browser activity on administrator workstations to identify forged request patterns.
- Alert on VIOM audit events that occur outside change-management windows or without a corresponding interactive login.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose audit logging on the VIOM web tier and forward logs to a central SIEM for correlation.
- Monitor adjacent network segments for HTTP traffic originating from administrator browsers toward unexpected external hosts shortly before VIOM changes.
- Track and review all configuration deltas in VIOM-managed clusters on a daily cadence.
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-44925
Immediate Actions Required
- Apply the vendor-supplied fix referenced in the InfoScale Security Bulletin to InfoScale 9.1.3 VIOM deployments.
- Restrict VIOM console access to a dedicated management network and block adjacent-network reachability from general user subnets.
- Require VIOM administrators to log out of the console when not actively performing maintenance, eliminating the active session required for exploitation.
Patch Information
Veritas has published remediation guidance in the InfoScale Operations Manager security bulletin covering CVE-2026-44923, CVE-2026-44924, and CVE-2026-44925. Administrators should follow the bulletin to obtain the corrective patch or hotfix for InfoScale 9.1.3 VIOM and validate that anti-CSRF protections are enforced after upgrade.
Workarounds
- Enforce browser isolation for VIOM administrators, using a dedicated browser profile or jump host that does not browse arbitrary web content.
- Configure network controls so the VIOM web interface is reachable only from a hardened administration VLAN.
- Set short session timeouts on the VIOM application to reduce the window in which a CSRF payload can succeed.
# Example: restrict VIOM console (default TCP 14161) to a management subnet using iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 14161 -s 10.10.50.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 14161 -j DROP
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
