CVE-2018-5241: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vf9c-2j2h-8frq
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CVSS 9.8
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-5241 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2018-5241 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-5241
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vf9c-2j2h-8frq
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-5241

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-5241, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under General Security Weakness. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Symantec Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) 6.6 and 6.7, and ProxySG 6.5, 6.6, and 6.7 are susceptible to a SAML authentication bypass vulnerability. The products can be configured with a SAML authentication realm to authenticate network users in intercepted proxy traffic. When parsing SAML responses, ASG and ProxySG incorrectly handle XML nodes with comments. A remote attacker can modify a valid SAML response without invalidating its cryptographic signature. This may allow the attacker to bypass user authentication security controls in ASG and ProxySG. This vulnerability only affects authentication of network users in intercepted traffic. It does not affect administrator user authentication for the ASG and ProxySG management consoles.

References

NVD — CVE-2018-5241 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-5241
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://www.symantec.com/security-center/network-protection-security-advisories/SA167
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104282
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040993

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-5241?
CVE-2018-5241 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under General Security Weakness.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2018-5241?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-5241?
CVE-2018-5241 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-5241?
CVE-2018-5241 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-5241?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-vf9c-2j2h-8frq",
  "modified" : "2022-05-13T01:08:52Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:08:52Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-5241" ],
  "details" : "Symantec Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) 6.6 and 6.7, and ProxySG 6.5, 6.6, and 6.7 are susceptible to a SAML authentication bypass vulnerability. The products can be configured with a SAML authentication realm to authenticate network users in intercepted proxy traffic. When parsing SAML responses, ASG and ProxySG incorrectly handle XML nodes with comments. A remote attacker can modify a valid SAML response without invalidating its cryptographic signature. This may allow the attacker to bypass user authentication security controls in ASG and ProxySG. This vulnerability only affects authentication of network users in intercepted traffic. It does not affect administrator user authentication for the ASG and ProxySG management consoles.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-5241"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.symantec.com/security-center/network-protection-security-advisories/SA167"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104282"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040993"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-05-29T13:29:00Z"
  }
}