CVE-2022-40725
📋 TL;DR
PingID Desktop versions before 1.7.4 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability where attackers can circumvent the maximum PIN attempt limit before time-based lockout activates. This allows brute-force attacks against PINs, potentially compromising multi-factor authentication. Organizations using PingID Desktop for authentication are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- PingID Desktop
📦 What is this software?
Desktop by Pingidentity
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of user accounts through brute-force PIN attacks, leading to unauthorized access to protected systems and data.
Likely Case
Targeted attacks against high-value accounts to bypass MFA and gain unauthorized access to corporate resources.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper monitoring and rapid response to suspicious authentication attempts.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to the desktop application interface but is technically simple once access is obtained.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.7.4
Vendor Advisory: https://docs.pingidentity.com/r/en-us/pingid/desktop_app_1.7.4
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download PingID Desktop 1.7.4 from official Ping Identity sources. 2. Install the update on all affected endpoints. 3. Restart the application or system as required.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable PIN Authentication
allTemporarily disable PIN-based authentication in favor of other MFA methods
Reduce PIN Attempts
allConfigure lower maximum PIN attempts before lockout
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to limit access to PingID Desktop endpoints
- Enhance monitoring for unusual authentication patterns and failed PIN attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check PingID Desktop version in application settings or About dialogCheck Version:
Check application GUI or registry/plist entries for version informationVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version shows 1.7.4 or higher in application settings📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed PIN attempts from same user/source
- Successful authentication after many failed attempts
- Unusual authentication patterns
Network Indicators:
- Unusual authentication traffic patterns
- Multiple authentication requests from single endpoint
SIEM Query:
source="pingid" AND (event_type="auth_failure" AND count>5) OR (event_type="auth_success" AFTER multiple_failures)