Zoho ManageEngine: code execution flaw under attack

What is affected

Zoho ManageEngine 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.

Zoho ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus contains an unspecified vulnerability allowing for remote code execution when performing a password change or reset.

What an attacker can do

This is a code execution flaw. It lets an attacker run their own commands or programs on the affected system. In practice that usually means taking it over: installing malware, stealing data or using it to reach other devices on the same network.

How it is reached

Over the internet or network

Access the attacker needs

An administrator account

Does the victim have to do something?

Yes, the victim must open or click something

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 Zoho ManageEngine 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 updates per vendor instructions.

Vendor advisories and fixes

• manageengine.comwww.manageengine.com/products/self-service-password/advisory/CVE-2022-28810.html

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on March 7, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by March 28, 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 71% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.4% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 6.8 out of 10 (medium), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

Zoho ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus before build 6122 allows a remote authenticated administrator to execute arbitrary operating OS commands as SYSTEM via the policy custom script feature. Due to the use of a default administrator password, attackers may be able to abuse this functionality with minimal effort. Additionally, a remote and partially authenticated attacker may be able to inject arbitrary commands into the custom script due to an unsanitized password field.