CVE-2022-24637 – CVE-2022-24637 is a critical vulnerability in O... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-24637?

CVE-2022-24637 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). CVE-2022-24637 is a critical vulnerability in Open Web Analytics (OWA) that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to obtain sensitive user information and potentially gain admin privileges. This occurs due to improper handling of PHP files with malformed opening tags. All OWA installations before version 1.7.4 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2022-24637 is a critical vulnerability in Open Web Analytics (OWA) that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to obtain sensitive user information and potentially gain admin privileges. This occurs due to improper handling of PHP files with malformed opening tags. All OWA installations before version 1.7.4 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Open Web Analytics

Versions: All versions before 1.7.4

Operating Systems: All operating systems running PHP

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects all OWA installations regardless of configuration. The vulnerability is in the core code.

📦 What is this software?

Open Web Analytics by Openwebanalytics

View all CVEs affecting Open Web Analytics →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system compromise with admin privilege escalation leading to remote code execution, data theft, and potential lateral movement within the network.

🟠

Likely Case

Unauthenticated attackers gain admin access to OWA, allowing them to manipulate analytics data, inject malicious scripts, and potentially pivot to other systems.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper network segmentation and access controls, though OWA functionality would still be compromised.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Unauthenticated remote exploitation makes internet-facing instances extremely vulnerable to attack.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal attackers or compromised internal systems could exploit this, but requires some level of network access.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: CONFIRMED

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Multiple public exploit scripts and detailed write-ups exist. Exploitation requires minimal technical skill.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 1.7.4

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/Open-Web-Analytics/Open-Web-Analytics/releases/tag/1.7.4

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Backup your OWA installation and database. 2. Download OWA 1.7.4 from the official GitHub repository. 3. Replace all files with the patched version. 4. Verify the installation works correctly.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rules

all

Implement WAF rules to block requests attempting to exploit the cache hash vulnerability.

Network Access Control

all

Restrict access to OWA instances to trusted IP addresses only.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Immediately take OWA instances offline until patching is possible.
Implement strict network segmentation to isolate OWA from critical systems.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check the OWA version in the admin panel or by examining the version.php file. If version is below 1.7.4, the system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

grep -r "define.*OWA_VERSION" /path/to/owa/installation/ or check admin interface

Verify Fix Applied:

After patching, verify the version shows 1.7.4 or higher and test that the specific exploit paths no longer work.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual requests to cache-related endpoints
Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful admin access from new IPs
Requests containing malformed PHP tags or cache hash manipulation

Network Indicators:

Unusual outbound connections from OWA server
Traffic patterns indicating data exfiltration

SIEM Query:

source="owa_access.log" AND (uri="*cache*" OR status=200 AND user_agent="*exploit*")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-24637

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-269

Published: March 18, 2022

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/169811/Open-Web-Analytics-1.7.3-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit,Third Party Advisory,VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/171389/Open-Web-Analytics-1.7.3-Remote-Code-Execution.html
https://devel0pment.de/?p=2494 Exploit,Mitigation,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/Open-Web-Analytics/Open-Web-Analytics/releases/tag/1.7.4 Release Notes,Third Party Advisory
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/169811/Open-Web-Analytics-1.7.3-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit,Third Party Advisory,VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/171389/Open-Web-Analytics-1.7.3-Remote-Code-Execution.html
https://devel0pment.de/?p=2494 Exploit,Mitigation,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/Open-Web-Analytics/Open-Web-Analytics/releases/tag/1.7.4 Release Notes,Third Party Advisory

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

If you're affected by CVE-2022-24637, you might also want to check these: