CVE-2024-9342: High-Risk Login Brute Force Vulnerability in Eclipse GlassFish

Overview

CVE-2024-9342 is a high-risk vulnerability present in Eclipse GlassFish version 7.0.16 or earlier. It allows potential attackers to execute Login Brute Force attacks due to a lack of restrictions on the number of failed login attempts. This vulnerability poses a significant risk to businesses and organizations that employ the Eclipse GlassFish software, as it could lead to system compromise or data leakage. The severity and potential impact of this vulnerability stress the importance of swift mitigation and patch application.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2024-9342
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise and potential data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Eclipse GlassFish | 7.0.16 and earlier

How the Exploit Works

The exploit takes advantage of the lack of restrictions on the number of failed login attempts in the targeted product. This allows an attacker to undertake a Brute Force attack, continually trying different combinations of credentials until they eventually guess the correct ones. The absence of measures to prevent or limit such attempts gives the attacker an unlimited number of guesses, dramatically increasing the chances of a successful breach.

Conceptual Example Code

A crude, yet effective, conceptual exploit might take the form of a Python script using a library such as “requests” to iteratively send POST requests with different credential combinations. Below is a highly simplified example:

import requests
url = "http://target.example.com/login"
payload = {"username": "admin", "password": "password"}
for password in password_list:
payload['password'] = password
response = requests.post(url, data=payload)
if response.status_code == 200:
print(f"Successful login with password: {password}")
break

In this example, the `password_list` would contain a large number of possible passwords. The script sends a POST request to the login page with each password until it receives a successful login response.

Mitigation Guidance

To mitigate this vulnerability, companies are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the interim, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can help prevent or at least detect such brute force attacks. More importantly, organizations should consider implementing account lockout or delay policies after a certain number of failed login attempts to minimize the risk of brute force attacks.