CVE-2024-24996
📋 TL;DR
This is a critical heap overflow vulnerability in Ivanti Avalanche's WLInfoRailService component that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected systems. It affects all Ivanti Avalanche versions before 6.4.3. Organizations using vulnerable versions are at immediate risk of complete system compromise.
💻 Affected Systems
- Ivanti Avalanche
📦 What is this software?
Avalanche by Ivanti
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system takeover with administrative privileges, data exfiltration, ransomware deployment, and lateral movement across the network.
Likely Case
Remote code execution leading to malware installation, data theft, and persistent backdoor establishment.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if network segmentation isolates the vulnerable service and strict access controls are enforced.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires no authentication and has a high CVSS score, making it attractive for exploitation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.4.3
Vendor Advisory: https://forums.ivanti.com/s/article/Avalanche-6-4-3-Security-Hardening-and-CVEs-addressed?language=en_US
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Ivanti Avalanche 6.4.3 from the Ivanti portal. 2. Backup current configuration and data. 3. Run the installer to upgrade to version 6.4.3. 4. Restart the Avalanche server and verify the update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allIsolate the Avalanche server from untrusted networks and restrict access to necessary IPs only.
Service Disablement
windowsTemporarily disable the WLInfoRailService component if not required for operations.
sc stop WLInfoRailService
sc config WLInfoRailService start= disabled
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit connections to the Avalanche server
- Deploy intrusion detection/prevention systems to monitor for exploitation attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the Avalanche version in the web interface or via the installed program version.Check Version:
Check the version in the Avalanche web interface under Help > About, or examine the installed program version in Windows.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify the version shows 6.4.3 or higher in the Avalanche administration console.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual process creation from WLInfoRailService
- Failed authentication attempts to the service
- Abnormal network connections from the Avalanche server
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected outbound connections from the Avalanche server
- Traffic to the WLInfoRailService port (typically 1777/TCP)
SIEM Query:
source="avalanche_server" AND (event_id="4688" OR process_name="cmd.exe" OR process_name="powershell.exe")