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CRITICAL · CVSS 9.8 CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

CVE-2022-46169

Cacti Command Injection Vulnerability

Cacti Cacti

Cacti is an open source platform which provides a robust and extensible operational monitoring and fault management framework for users. In affected versions a command injection vulnerability allows an unauthenticated user to execute arbitrary code on a server running Cacti, if a specific data source was selected for any monitored device. The vulnerability resides in the `remote_agent.php` file. This file can be accessed without authentication. This function retrieves the IP address of the client via `get_client_addr` and resolves this IP address to the corresponding hostname via `gethostbyaddr`. After this, it is verified that an entry within the `poller` table exists, where the hostname corresponds to the resolved hostname. If such an entry was found, the function returns `true` and the client is authorized. This authorization can be bypassed due to the implementation of the `get_client_addr` function. The function is defined in the file `lib/functions.php` and checks serval `$_SERVER` variables to determine the IP address of the client. The variables beginning with `HTTP_` can be arbitrarily set by an attacker. Since there is a default entry in the `poller` table with the hostna

CVSS
9.8
CRITICAL
EPSS
99.8%
30-day exploitation
Ransomware groups
0
recorded exploiting
Published
5 Dec 2022
CWE-74, CWE-78

Exploitation status

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Listed by CISA on 16 February 2023. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 9 March 2023.

EPSS — exploitation probability

FIRST puts the probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days at 99.8%, which is higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities. EPSS is a forecast of activity, not a measure of severity, and it is rescored daily.

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2022-46169 being exploited by ransomware groups?

No ransomware group in this database is currently recorded as exploiting CVE-2022-46169.

What does CVE-2022-46169 affect?

CVE-2022-46169 affects Cacti Cacti. Cacti is an open source platform which provides a robust and extensible operational monitoring and fault management framework for users. In affected versions a command injection vulnerability allows an unauthenticated user to execute arbitrary code on a server running Cacti, if a specific data source was selected for any monitored device. The vulnerability resides in the `remote_agent.php` file. This file can be accessed without authentication. This function retrieves the IP address of the client via `get_client_addr` and resolves this IP address to the corresponding hostname via `gethostbyaddr`. After this, it is verified that an entry within the `poller` table exists, where the hostname corresponds to the resolved hostname. If such an entry was found, the function returns `true` and the client is authorized. This authorization can be bypassed due to the implementation of the `get_client_addr` function. The function is defined in the file `lib/functions.php` and checks serval `$_SERVER` variables to determine the IP address of the client. The variables beginning with `HTTP_` can be arbitrarily set by an attacker. Since there is a default entry in the `poller` table with the hostna

How severe is CVE-2022-46169?

CVE-2022-46169 is rated CRITICAL with a CVSS base score of 9.8. EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 99.8%, higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, with a federal remediation deadline of 9 March 2023.

How should organisations respond to CVE-2022-46169?

Apply the vendor patch for Cacti Cacti as the first priority, and treat any internet-facing instance as the most urgent. Because this vulnerability is associated with ransomware activity, also review whether the affected systems were reachable before patching, rather than assuming that patching alone closes the incident.