CVE-2022-36976
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-36976 is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in Ivanti Avalanche that allows remote attackers to bypass authentication. The flaw exists in the GroupDaoImpl class where user-supplied input is directly incorporated into SQL queries without proper sanitization. Organizations running Ivanti Avalanche 6.3.2.3490 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Ivanti Avalanche
📦 What is this software?
Avalanche by Ivanti
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise allowing attackers to gain administrative access, steal sensitive data, deploy ransomware, or pivot to other systems in the network.
Likely Case
Authentication bypass leading to unauthorized access to the Avalanche management interface, potentially enabling configuration changes, device management, and data exfiltration.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation, authentication controls, and monitoring are in place to detect and block exploitation attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires sending a crafted HTTP request to the vulnerable endpoint. No authentication is needed, making exploitation straightforward for attackers with network access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.3.4 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://download.wavelink.com/Files/avalanche_v6.3.4_release_notes.txt
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Ivanti Avalanche version 6.3.4 or later from the official Ivanti portal. 2. Backup current configuration and database. 3. Run the installer to upgrade to the patched version. 4. Restart the Avalanche service or server as required.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Restriction
allRestrict network access to the Avalanche management interface to only trusted IP addresses or internal networks.
Use firewall rules to limit access (e.g., Windows Firewall: New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Restrict Avalanche' -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 8080 -Protocol TCP -RemoteAddress 192.168.1.0/24 -Action Allow)
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
allDeploy a WAF with SQL injection protection rules to block exploitation attempts.
Configure WAF rules to detect and block SQL injection patterns in requests to /avalanche endpoints
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate the Avalanche server from internet and untrusted networks
- Enable detailed logging and monitoring for suspicious authentication attempts and SQL query patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the Avalanche version in the web interface (typically at http://<server>:8080) or examine installed programs in Windows Control Panel. If version is 6.3.2.3490 or earlier, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -like '*Avalanche*'} | Select-Object Name, VersionVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify the version shows 6.3.4 or later in the web interface. Test authentication functionality to ensure it works correctly without allowing SQL injection.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual SQL query patterns in database logs
- Failed authentication attempts followed by successful logins from unusual IPs
- HTTP requests containing SQL keywords (SELECT, UNION, etc.) to /avalanche endpoints
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to authentication endpoints with SQL injection payloads
- Traffic to Avalanche ports (typically 8080) from unexpected sources
SIEM Query:
source='avalanche.log' AND (http_uri='*GroupDaoImpl*' OR http_body='*SELECT*' OR http_body='*UNION*')