CVE-2024-51958
📋 TL;DR
A path traversal vulnerability in ESRI ArcGIS Server versions 11.3 and below allows remote authenticated attackers with admin privileges to access files outside intended directories, potentially exposing sensitive data. This impacts confidentiality but not integrity or availability, affecting organizations using vulnerable ArcGIS Server instances.
💻 Affected Systems
- ESRI ArcGIS Server
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker with admin credentials could access sensitive system files, configuration data, or proprietary information stored on the server, leading to data breaches or further exploitation.
Likely Case
An authenticated admin user could inadvertently or maliciously read files like configuration files, logs, or other non-critical data, compromising confidentiality but with limited scope due to admin access requirements.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and monitoring, impact is minimal as only authorized admins can exploit it, and sensitive files may be protected by additional permissions.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation is straightforward for authenticated admins but requires valid credentials; no public exploits known at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply the security update from ESRI's 2025 Update 1 patch or later versions.
Vendor Advisory: https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/trust-arcgis/administration/arcgis-server-security-2025-update-1-patch/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Review the ESRI advisory. 2. Download and apply the security patch for ArcGIS Server. 3. Restart the ArcGIS Server service. 4. Verify the update by checking the version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Admin Access
allLimit admin privileges to trusted users only and enforce strong authentication to reduce attack surface.
File System Permissions
linux/windowsSet strict file system permissions to prevent unauthorized file access, even if traversal is attempted.
chmod 600 sensitive_files (Linux)
icacls sensitive_files /deny everyone:F (Windows)
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Monitor and audit admin user activities for suspicious file access patterns.
- Implement network segmentation to isolate ArcGIS Server from sensitive data stores.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the ArcGIS Server version; if it is 11.3 or below, it is vulnerable. Use the version check command.Check Version:
On ArcGIS Server, run: arcgis-server --version or check via the admin interface.Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, confirm the version is above 11.3 and test for path traversal by attempting to access restricted files (in a controlled manner).📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file access patterns in server logs, especially from admin accounts attempting to traverse directories.
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with path traversal sequences (e.g., '../') to ArcGIS Server endpoints.
SIEM Query:
source="arcgis_server" AND (url="*../*" OR action="file_access")