CVE-2024-52505
📋 TL;DR
The matrix-appservice-irc bridge up to version 3.0.2 contains a vulnerability in its provisioning API that allows attackers to execute arbitrary IRC commands as the bridge's IRC bot. This affects anyone running the vulnerable bridge software, potentially allowing unauthorized IRC actions. The vulnerability has been patched in version 3.0.3.
💻 Affected Systems
- matrix-appservice-irc
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain full control of the IRC bot account, allowing them to join/leave channels, kick/ban users, send messages as the bot, or perform other IRC operations with bot privileges.
Likely Case
Unauthorized users execute IRC commands through the bridge, potentially disrupting IRC operations, spamming channels, or performing limited administrative actions.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and access controls, impact is limited to the IRC bot's capabilities only, preventing lateral movement to other systems.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to the provisioning API endpoint. The advisory suggests the vulnerability involves improper input validation allowing command injection.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.0.3
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-appservice-irc/security/advisories/GHSA-c3hj-hg7p-rrq5
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update matrix-appservice-irc to version 3.0.3 or later using npm: npm update matrix-appservice-irc. 2. Restart the bridge service. 3. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable provisioning API
allIf the provisioning API is not needed, disable it in the bridge configuration to eliminate the attack surface.
Edit config.yaml and set provisioning.enabled: false
Restrict API access
linuxConfigure firewall rules to restrict access to the provisioning API endpoint to trusted IP addresses only.
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [API_PORT] -s [TRUSTED_IP] -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [API_PORT] -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit who can reach the provisioning API endpoint.
- Monitor bridge logs for unusual IRC command patterns or unauthorized API access attempts.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the package.json file or run: npm list matrix-appservice-irc | grep matrix-appservice-ircCheck Version:
npm list matrix-appservice-irc | grep matrix-appservice-ircVerify Fix Applied:
Verify the installed version is 3.0.3 or higher: npm list matrix-appservice-irc📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual IRC commands executed by the bridge bot
- Unexpected API requests to provisioning endpoints
- Error logs showing command parsing failures
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic patterns to the bridge's provisioning API port
- IRC protocol anomalies from the bridge bot
SIEM Query:
source="bridge.log" AND ("provisioning" OR "IRC command") AND (status="error" OR "unexpected")