Horizon Alert
Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters
This advisory addresses a critical vulnerability in Open Access Management (OpenAM), a solution for managing user access. The issue involves a flaw in how certain data is processed, which could allow an unauthenticated attacker to potentially execute malicious code. This bypasses previous security measures and impacts systems running versions prior to 16.1.2.
- Flaw allows code execution before authentication.
- Affects access management solutions, potentially public-facing.
- Confirm relevance and exposure of this access management flaw.
Attack Path
How an attacker could exploit the issue
An attacker could target the Open Access Management (OpenAM) system through its network interface, requiring only partial authentication to reach the vulnerable component. By crafting a specific serialized object, the attacker can trigger a deserialization vulnerability within the WebAuthn authentication process. This bypasses earlier security measures and can lead to arbitrary code execution if a malicious gadget is present on the system's classpath.
- Requires partial authentication and network access.
- Triggered by deserializing a malicious user handle.
- Risks code execution before verification.
Live Threat
Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context
A pre-authentication attacker could exploit this vulnerability by supplying specially crafted data during the deserialization process. When supported by the advisory's conditions, this could lead to the execution of arbitrary code on the affected system before proper verification, potentially impacting the integrity and availability of the access management solution.
- System data and service integrity at risk.
- Unauthenticated network input could trigger it.
- Compromised access control and service availability.
Operational Fix
Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps
Ownership of this vulnerability likely falls to the platform or infrastructure teams responsible for managing the OpenAM access management solution, with input from security teams for exposure assessment and vendor management for coordination. The first practical step is to identify all OpenAM instances, determine their reachability and business criticality, and then engage the accountable owner to plan remediation based on the assessed risk.
- Platform and infrastructure teams own the issue.
- Verify OpenAM instances and their exposure.
- Plan remediation, potentially involving vendor coordination.
