Overview
A newly discovered critical vulnerability, dubbed as CVE-2024-39289, has been identified in the Robot Operating System (ROS), specifically in the ‘rosparam’ tool. This vulnerability affects ROS distributions Noetic Ninjemys and earlier versions. The vulnerability, a code execution flaw, has far-reaching implications for systems operating on affected ROS distributions. The flaw’s significance lies in its potential to allow attackers to craft and execute arbitrary Python code, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2024-39289
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Remote
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise and potential data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Robot Operating System (ROS) | Noetic Ninjemys and earlier
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability is rooted in the use of the eval() function to process unsanitized, user-supplied parameter values via special converters for angle representations in radians. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious Python code into these parameters. When the ‘rosparam’ tool processes these parameters using the eval() function, the malicious code is executed. This allows the attacker to potentially compromise the system and access sensitive data.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability:
# Attacker crafts malicious Python code to be injected
malicious_code = "__import__('os').system('rm -rf /')"
# Attacker injects the malicious code into the angle parameter
angle_parameter = "eval('{}".format(malicious_code)
# The 'rosparam' tool processes the malicious code, leading to the execution of the attacker's command
rosparam.set_param('robot_angle', angle_parameter)This is purely conceptual and simplified for understanding purposes. The executed command in the example is a destructive command that deletes all files in the system, signifying the potential severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation Guidance
Users are strongly advised to apply the vendor-released patch to mitigate this vulnerability. If the patch cannot be applied immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation, helping to identify and block potential attacks exploiting this vulnerability.
