Skip to main content

CVE-2022-31199Netwrix Auditor Insecure Object Deserialization Vulnerability

Patch nowCritical9.8Exploited, CISA due date 2023-08-01EPSS 36%, higher than 98% of scored CVEs

CVE-2022-31199 is a deserialization of untrusted data in Netwrix Auditor, 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

Serialized objects from outside are turned back into live objects, which a crafted payload can abuse to run code.

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 turn crafted data into code execution inside the receiving service.

Is it being exploited?

CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-07-11: it is being exploited in the wild. CISA links it to ransomware campaigns. EPSS estimates a 36% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 98% 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: 2023-08-01.
  2. Upgrade Netwrix Auditor to 10.5 or later.
  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

Remote code execution vulnerabilities exist in the Netwrix Auditor User Activity Video Recording component affecting both the Netwrix Auditor server and agents installed on monitored systems. The remote code execution vulnerabilities exist within the underlying protocol used by the component, and potentially allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code as the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM user on affected systems, including on systems Netwrix Auditor monitors.

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

  • APIs, queues and caches that accept serialized objects. The flaw sits between a message producer and the service that deserializes it.

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 a message producer and the service that deserializes it. An attacker who crosses it can turn crafted data into code execution inside the receiving service.

Questions to answer about your own systems

  • Where does Netwrix Auditor 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.