CVE-2019-15949

Nagios XI: Remote Code Execution

As of , CVE-2019-15949 in Nagios XI is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch this week.

Exploited
Yes: CISA listed it on 3 November 2021
US federal deadline
3 May 2022181 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
Used in ransomware campaigns
Not known to CISA
EPSS score
0.77Higher than 99% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
EPSS when listed
Not availableCISA listed it before 4 February 2022, where the EPSS files we read begin.
Public exploit
2 Metasploit modules and 2 Exploit-DB entries (1 verified)
Fix
No vendor link in CISA's entry

What CISA says to do

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

CISA's required action

What the flaw is

Nagios XI contains a remote code execution vulnerability in which a user can modify the check_plugin executable and insert malicious commands to execute as root.

CISA's description

Nagios XI before 5.6.6 allows remote command execution as root. The exploit requires access to the server as the nagios user, or access as the admin user via the web interface. The getprofile.sh script, invoked by downloading a system profile (profile.php?cmd=download), is executed as root via a passwordless sudo entry; the script executes check_plugin, which is owned by the nagios user. A user logged into Nagios XI with permissions to modify plugins, or the nagios user on the server, can modify the check_plugin executable and insert malicious commands to execute as root.

The CVE record's description, from mitre

CVE published
5 September 2019
Assigned by
mitre
CVSS
8.8 High (CVSS 3.1, from CISA-ADP)
CWE-78
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
CISA SSVC, exploitation
active
CISA SSVC, automatable
no
CISA SSVC, technical impact
total

Timeline

  1. The CVE record was published.
  2. Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 48191).
  3. CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
  4. The US federal deadline to fix it.
  5. Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 52138).

Public exploits

Facts from Metasploit's module list and Exploit-DB's index; we never copy exploit code.

Nagios XI: other exploited entries

VulnerabilityProductOur groupListedDeadlineEPSS
CVE-2021-25296OS Command InjectionNagios Nagios XIPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.720.72
CVE-2021-25297OS Command InjectionNagios Nagios XIPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.570.57
CVE-2021-25298OS Command InjectionNagios Nagios XIPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.750.75

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