Overview
The cybersecurity landscape is riddled with vulnerabilities that, if left unaddressed, could result in significant damage to systems and loss of sensitive data. One such vulnerability is CVE-2024-0542, found in Tenda W9 1.0.0.7(4456). This critical vulnerability affects the formWifiMacFilterGet function of the httpd component, leading to a stack-based buffer overflow. This vulnerability is particularly concerning as it can be exploited remotely, and the exploit has been made public. The vendor of the affected product was informed of this vulnerability but has not responded, making swift action by users and system administrators crucial.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2024-0542
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 8.8)
Attack Vector: Remote
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
No phone number, email, or personal info required.
Product | Affected Versions
Tenda | W9 1.0.0.7(4456)
How the Exploit Works
The exploit works by manipulating the ‘index’ argument in the ‘formWifiMacFilterGet’ function of the httpd component in Tenda W9 1.0.0.7(4456). This manipulation triggers a stack-based buffer overflow. A buffer overflow occurs when more data is put into a buffer than it can hold, causing the excess data to overflow into adjacent storage. This overflow can overwrite and corrupt valid data, causing undefined behavior, crashes, and in this case, potential system compromise or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
An attacker may exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted HTTP request to the affected device, such as the following conceptual example:
POST /formWifiMacFilterGet HTTP/1.1
Host: target_device_IP
Content-Type: application/json
{ "index": "A"*5000 } // overwhelming the buffer with too much dataIn this example, the ‘index’ argument is filled with a large amount of data, triggering a buffer overflow.
Mitigation Guidance
Users and administrators are strongly recommended to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available to resolve this critical vulnerability. If the vendor does not provide a patch, users can employ a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation measure. However, these should not be considered long-term solutions, as they do not address the root cause of the vulnerability.
Note that while mitigations can reduce the risk of exploitation, they are not a substitute for patching the affected product. Regular patching and updating of all software is an essential part of maintaining cybersecurity hygiene.