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CVE-2023-22952Multiple SugarCRM Products Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Patch nowHigh8.8Exploited, CISA due date 2023-02-23EPSS 80%, higher than 100% of scored CVEs

CVE-2023-22952 is a code injection in Sugarcrm, rated high (8.8 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 evaluated as code by the application, so an attacker's code runs inside it. The software trusts input it should check, so crafted values reach code that assumes they are well formed.

How it is reached

An attacker can exploit it over the network, with an ordinary user 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 run commands or code with the privileges of the affected service.

Is it being exploited?

CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-02-02: it is being exploited in the wild. EPSS estimates a 80% 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: 2023-02-23.
  2. Upgrade Sugarcrm to a fixed version for your release line (11.0.5, 12.0.2).
  3. Until it is patched, review who holds accounts that can reach it.
  4. Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.

Description from NVD

In SugarCRM before 12.0. Hotfix 91155, a crafted request can inject custom PHP code through the EmailTemplates because of missing input validation.

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

  • Application servers and the hosts they run on. The flaw sits between untrusted input and code or command execution.
  • Template engines. The flaw sits between untrusted input and code or command execution.
  • Interfaces that accept external input. The flaw sits at the input boundary of the affected component.

Trust boundaries in play

  • Authenticated network access. An account is needed, so exposure follows who can sign in: customers, partners or staff.
  • Between untrusted input and code or command execution. An attacker who crosses it can run commands or code with the privileges of the affected service.
  • At the input boundary of the affected component. An attacker who crosses it can drive the component into behaviour its authors did not intend.

Questions to answer about your own systems

  • Where does Sugarcrm 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.