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.

Multiple Zoho ManageEngine products contain an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability due to the usage of an outdated third-party dependency, Apache Santuario.

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

No account needed

Does the victim have to do something?

No, works without the victim doing anything

CISA records this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns: attackers use it to get in, then encrypt files and demand payment.

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/security/advisory/CVE/cve-2022-47966.html

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on January 23, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by February 13, 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 100% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 100.0% 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

Multiple Zoho ManageEngine on-premise products, such as ServiceDesk Plus through 14003, allow remote code execution due to use of Apache Santuario xmlsec (aka XML Security for Java) 1.4.1, because the xmlsec XSLT features, by design in that version, make the application responsible for certain security protections, and the ManageEngine applications did not provide those protections. This affects Access Manager Plus before 4308, Active Directory 360 before 4310, ADAudit Plus before 7081, ADManager Plus before 7162, ADSelfService Plus before 6211, Analytics Plus before 5150, Application Control Plus before 10.1.2220.18, Asset Explorer before 6983, Browser Security Plus before 11.1.2238.6, Device Control Plus before 10.1.2220.18, Endpoint Central before 10.1.2228.11, Endpoint Central MSP before 10.1.2228.11, Endpoint DLP before 10.1.2137.6, Key Manager Plus before 6401, OS Deployer before 1.1.2243.1, PAM 360 before 5713, Password Manager Pro before 12124, Patch Manager Plus before 10.1.2220.18, Remote Access Plus before 10.1.2228.11, Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) before 10.1.41. ServiceDesk Plus before 14004, ServiceDesk Plus MSP before 13001, SupportCenter Plus before 11026, and Vulnerability Manager Plus before 10.1.2220.18. Exploitation is only possible if SAML SSO has ever been configured for a product (for some products, exploitation requires that SAML SSO is currently active).