Ubiquiti Security Advisory Bulletin 038

On March 25th Ubiquiti announced a command injection exploit found in their Linux version of their Self-Hosted UniFi Network Controller in version 8.0.28 and earlier. The post states “A Command Injection vulnerability found in a Self-Hosted UniFi Network Server (Linux) with UniFi Network Application (Version 8.0.28 and earlier) allows a malicious actor with UniFi Network Application Administrator credentials to escalate privileges to root on the host device.”

What is a Command Injection Vulnerability?

A command injection vulnerability is a security weakness in a computer program that allows an attacker to trick the program into running unauthorized commands on the system. Imagine a program that lets you search for files on a computer. Normally, you type in a search term, and the program searches for files with those terms in the names. But if the program has a command injection vulnerability, an attacker could enter a special search term that includes extra commands for the computer to run. For instance, they might enter a search term that looks like a normal search term, but also includes a command to steal files.

These vulnerabilities happen because the program isn't careful about the data it accepts from users. The program treats whatever the user types in as a search term, and doesn't check for anything else. An attacker can take advantage of this by providing data that looks like a search term, but also includes other instructions for the program to run.

Command injection vulnerabilities can be very serious. If an attacker is successful, they could potentially take complete control of the computer system. They could steal files, install malware, or even delete important data. That's why it's important for software developers to be careful about how they handle user input, and to make sure that their programs don't have command injection vulnerabilities.

How to Mitigate this Vulnerability

The affected version(s):

UniFi Network Application (Version 8.0.28 and earlier) hosted on Linux

Way to Mitigate the Threat:

According to Ubiquiti’s post, if you are running version 8.0.28 or earlier on a Linux distribution, update UniFi Network Application to Version 8.1.113 or later.

Impact:

CVSS v3.0 Severity and Metrics:

Base Score: 9.1 Critical

Vector: 

CVSS: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVE: CVE-2024-27981 (Mathew Marcus)

Reference Link: https://community.ui.com/releases/Security-Advisory-Bulletin-038-038/9d13fead-47de-4372-b2c1-745b8d6b0399

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