Skip to main content

CVE-2019-12989Citrix SD-WAN and NetScaler SQL Injection Vulnerability

Patch nowCritical9.8Exploited, CISA due date 2022-04-15EPSS 95%, higher than 100% of scored CVEs

CVE-2019-12989 is a SQL injection in Citrix SD-WAN and NetScaler, rated critical (9.8 on CVSS 3.1).

Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.

Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed

What it is

Input is pasted into a database query, so an attacker can rewrite the query to read or change data.

How it is reached

An attacker can exploit it over the network, without an account, and nobody has to click anything.

What an attacker gains

A successful attack can read the data it protects, change data or behaviour and take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker read or change records in the data store behind the application.

Is it being exploited?

CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-03-25: it is being exploited in the wild. It can be exploited automatically, at scale. EPSS estimates a 95% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 100% of scored CVEs.

What to do

  1. Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2022-04-15.
  2. Apply the update for your edition of Citrix SD-WAN and NetScaler. Fixed builds: Netscaler Sd-wan: 10.0.8; Sd-wan: 10.2.3.
  3. Until it is patched, keep it off the internet or behind a VPN, allowlist or authenticating proxy.
  4. Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.

Description from NVD

Citrix SD-WAN 10.2.x before 10.2.3 and NetScaler SD-WAN 10.0.x before 10.0.8 allow SQL Injection.

What this means for your architecture.

A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.

Components it touches

  • Network edge devices: VPNs, firewalls, routers and gateways. They sit between the internet and internal networks, so a flaw in one is often the first step into everything behind it.
  • Services that build database or directory queries. The flaw sits between the application and its data store.
  • Databases. The flaw sits between the application and its data store.

Trust boundaries in play

  • Internet-facing entry points. No account is needed. Any instance reachable from outside your perimeter, through a load balancer, gateway, VPN or exposed admin port, is in scope.
  • Between the application and its data store. An attacker who crosses it can read or change records in the data store behind the application.

Questions to answer about your own systems

  • Where does Citrix SD-WAN and NetScaler run in your systems, and at which version?
  • Which of those instances can be reached from the internet or partner networks?
  • What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?

Sources

  • CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
  • Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
  • Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
  • Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.