CVE-2021-33484
Published: 07 September 2021
Summary
CVE-2021-33484 is a high-severity Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798) vulnerability in Onyaktech Comments Pro Project Onyaktech Comments Pro. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, ranked at the 36.2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2021-20187
Vulnerability details
An issue was discovered in CommentsService.ashx in OnyakTech Comments Pro 3.8. An attacker can download a copy of the installer, decompile it, and discover a hardcoded IV used to encrypt the username and userid in the comment POST request. Additionally,…
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the attacker can decrypt the encrypted encryption key (sent as a parameter in the comment form request) by setting this encrypted value as the username, which will appear on the comment page in its decrypted form. Using these two values (combined with the encryption functionality discovered in the decompiled installer), the attacker can encrypt another user's ID and username. These values can be used as part of the comment posting request in order to spoof the user.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Enables users to notice when hard-coded credentials have been exploited for unauthorized access.
Security training explicitly warns against hard-coded credentials, lowering their use in systems.
Policy and procedures prohibit hard-coded credentials in favor of managed authentication.
External identity providers eliminate the need for hard-coded credentials in applications.
Changing default authenticators prior to first use and protecting content prevents use of hard-coded credentials.
Central credential stores and rotation policies remove the need for hard-coded credentials in configuration files or code.
Intelligence programs surface reports of campaigns that abuse hard-coded credentials in products, prompting removal or replacement and thereby reducing successful exploitation.
Planned investment enables secure credential storage and management systems instead of hard-coded credentials.