Vulnerabilities > CVE-2018-8265 - Improper Input Validation vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server 2013/2016

047910
CVSS 7.8 - HIGH
Attack vector
LOCAL
Attack complexity
LOW
Privileges required
NONE
Confidentiality impact
HIGH
Integrity impact
HIGH
Availability impact
HIGH
local
low complexity
microsoft
CWE-20
nessus

Summary

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Microsoft Exchange software parses specially crafted email messages, aka "Microsoft Exchange Remote Code Execution Vulnerability." This affects Microsoft Exchange Server.

Vulnerable Configurations

Part Description Count
Application
Microsoft
2

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

  • Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables
    This attack pattern involves causing a buffer overflow through manipulation of environment variables. Once the attacker finds that they can modify an environment variable, they may try to overflow associated buffers. This attack leverages implicit trust often placed in environment variables.
  • Server Side Include (SSI) Injection
    An attacker can use Server Side Include (SSI) Injection to send code to a web application that then gets executed by the web server. Doing so enables the attacker to achieve similar results to Cross Site Scripting, viz., arbitrary code execution and information disclosure, albeit on a more limited scale, since the SSI directives are nowhere near as powerful as a full-fledged scripting language. Nonetheless, the attacker can conveniently gain access to sensitive files, such as password files, and execute shell commands.
  • Cross Zone Scripting
    An attacker is able to cause a victim to load content into their web-browser that bypasses security zone controls and gain access to increased privileges to execute scripting code or other web objects such as unsigned ActiveX controls or applets. This is a privilege elevation attack targeted at zone-based web-browser security. In a zone-based model, pages belong to one of a set of zones corresponding to the level of privilege assigned to that page. Pages in an untrusted zone would have a lesser level of access to the system and/or be restricted in the types of executable content it was allowed to invoke. In a cross-zone scripting attack, a page that should be assigned to a less privileged zone is granted the privileges of a more trusted zone. This can be accomplished by exploiting bugs in the browser, exploiting incorrect configuration in the zone controls, through a cross-site scripting attack that causes the attackers' content to be treated as coming from a more trusted page, or by leveraging some piece of system functionality that is accessible from both the trusted and less trusted zone. This attack differs from "Restful Privilege Escalation" in that the latter correlates to the inadequate securing of RESTful access methods (such as HTTP DELETE) on the server, while cross-zone scripting attacks the concept of security zones as implemented by a browser.
  • Cross Site Scripting through Log Files
    An attacker may leverage a system weakness where logs are susceptible to log injection to insert scripts into the system's logs. If these logs are later viewed by an administrator through a thin administrative interface and the log data is not properly HTML encoded before being written to the page, the attackers' scripts stored in the log will be executed in the administrative interface with potentially serious consequences. This attack pattern is really a combination of two other attack patterns: log injection and stored cross site scripting.
  • Command Line Execution through SQL Injection
    An attacker uses standard SQL injection methods to inject data into the command line for execution. This could be done directly through misuse of directives such as MSSQL_xp_cmdshell or indirectly through injection of data into the database that would be interpreted as shell commands. Sometime later, an unscrupulous backend application (or could be part of the functionality of the same application) fetches the injected data stored in the database and uses this data as command line arguments without performing proper validation. The malicious data escapes that data plane by spawning new commands to be executed on the host.

Nessus

NASL familyWindows : Microsoft Bulletins
NASL idSMB_NT_MS18_OCT_EXCHANGE.NASL
descriptionThe Microsoft Exchange Server installed on the remote host is missing security updates. It is, therefore, affected by multiple vulnerabilities : - An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Microsoft Exchange Outlook Web Access (OWA) fails to properly handle web requests. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could perform script/content injection attacks and attempt to trick the user into disclosing sensitive information. (CVE-2018-8448) - A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Microsoft Exchange software parses specially crafted email messages. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the system user. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, add, or delete data. (CVE-2018-8265)
last seen2020-06-01
modified2020-06-02
plugin id118008
published2018-10-09
reporterThis script is Copyright (C) 2018-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.
sourcehttps://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/118008
titleSecurity Updates for Exchange (October 2018)
code
#
# (C) Tenable Network Security, Inc.
#
# The descriptive text and package checks in this plugin were  
# extracted from the Microsoft Security Updates API. The text
# itself is copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
#
include("compat.inc");

if (description)
{
  script_id(118008);
  script_version("1.5");
  script_cvs_date("Date: 2019/11/01");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2018-8265", "CVE-2018-8448");
  script_xref(name:"MSKB", value:"4459266");
  script_xref(name:"MSFT", value:"MS18-4459266");

  script_name(english:"Security Updates for Exchange (October 2018)");
  script_summary(english:"Checks for Microsoft security updates.");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"The Microsoft Exchange Server installed on the remote host is
affected by multiple vulnerabilities.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The Microsoft Exchange Server installed on the remote host
is missing security updates. It is, therefore, affected by
multiple vulnerabilities :

  - An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when
    Microsoft Exchange Outlook Web Access (OWA) fails to
    properly handle web requests. An attacker who
    successfully exploited this vulnerability could perform
    script/content injection attacks and attempt to trick
    the user into disclosing sensitive information.
    (CVE-2018-8448)

  - A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way
    Microsoft Exchange software parses specially crafted
    email messages. An attacker who successfully exploited
    the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the
    context of the system user. An attacker could then
    install programs; view, change, add, or delete data.
    (CVE-2018-8265)");
  # https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4459266/description-of-the-security-update-for-microsoft-exchange-server-2013
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"http://www.nessus.org/u?3ade9314");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"Microsoft has released the following security update to address this
issue:
  -KB4459266");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:U/RL:OF/RC:C");
  script_set_cvss3_base_vector("CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H");
  script_set_cvss3_temporal_vector("CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss_score_source", value:"CVE-2018-8265");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"No known exploits are available");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2018/10/09");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"patch_publication_date", value:"2018/10/09");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2018/10/09");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"local");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/a:microsoft:exchange_server");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_GATHER_INFO);
  script_family(english:"Windows : Microsoft Bulletins");

  script_copyright(english:"This script is Copyright (C) 2018-2019 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.");

  script_dependencies("ms_bulletin_checks_possible.nasl", "microsoft_exchange_installed.nbin");
  script_require_keys("SMB/MS_Bulletin_Checks/Possible");
  script_require_ports(139, 445, "Host/patch_management_checks");

  exit(0);
}

include("audit.inc");
include("smb_func.inc");
include("smb_hotfixes.inc");
include("smb_hotfixes_fcheck.inc");
include("misc_func.inc");
include("install_func.inc");

get_kb_item_or_exit('SMB/MS_Bulletin_Checks/Possible');

bulletin = 'MS18-10';
kb = "4340731";
kbs = make_list(kb);

if (get_kb_item('Host/patch_management_checks')) hotfix_check_3rd_party(bulletin:bulletin, kbs:kbs, severity:SECURITY_HOLE);

install = get_single_install(app_name:"Microsoft Exchange");

path = install["path"];
version = install["version"];
release = install["RELEASE"];

if (release != 150 && release != 151)
  audit(AUDIT_INST_VER_NOT_VULN, 'Exchange', version);

if (!empty_or_null(install["SP"]))
  sp = install["SP"];
if (!empty_or_null(install["CU"]))
  cu = install["CU"];

if ((release == 150 && cu != 21) ||
   (release == 151 && cu != 9 && cu != 10))
  audit(AUDIT_INST_VER_NOT_VULN, 'Exchange', version);

if (release == 150) # Exchange Server 2013
{
  if (cu == 21)
    fixedver = "15.0.1395.8";
}
else if (release == 151) # Exchange Server 2016
{
  if (cu == 9)
    fixedver = "15.1.1466.12";
  else if (cu == 10)
    fixedver = "15.1.1531.7";
}

if (fixedver && hotfix_is_vulnerable(path:hotfix_append_path(path:path, value:"Bin"), file:"ExSetup.exe", version:fixedver, bulletin:bulletin, kb:kb))
{
  set_kb_item(name:'SMB/Missing/' + bulletin, value:TRUE);
  hotfix_security_hole();
  hotfix_check_fversion_end();
  exit(0);
}
else
{
  hotfix_check_fversion_end();
  audit(AUDIT_HOST_NOT, 'affected');
}