Actively exploited vulnerability

Red Hat JBoss RichFaces Framework: vulnerability flaw under attack

CVE-2018-14667 · Red Hat JBoss RichFaces Framework Expression Language Injection Vulnerability

Business software9.8 critical

What is affected

Red Hat JBoss RichFaces Framework is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

Red Hat JBoss RichFaces Framework contains an expression language injection vulnerability via the UserResource resource. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute malicious code using a chain of Java serialized objects via org.ajax4jsf.resource.UserResource$UriData.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a vulnerability flaw. It lets an attacker misuse the product in a way its maker did not intend. CISA lists it because attackers are confirmed to be using it against real systems.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

  1. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
  2. If you administer Red Hat JBoss RichFaces Framework at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
  3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

Vendor advisories and fixes

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on September 28, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by October 19, 2023, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 74% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.5% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 9.8 out of 10 (critical), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

The RichFaces Framework 3.X through 3.3.4 is vulnerable to Expression Language (EL) injection via the UserResource resource. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could exploit this to execute arbitrary code using a chain of java serialized objects via org.ajax4jsf.resource.UserResource$UriData.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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