CVE-2022-35413
Published: 13 September 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-35413 is a critical-severity Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798) vulnerability in Pentasecurity Wapples. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 0.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
WAPPLES, a web application firewall from Penta Security, is affected through version 6.0 by a hardcoded "systemi" account. This credential is embedded in the product and permits direct access to administrative functions and sensitive data over the network.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the account by issuing HTTPS requests to the /webapi/ URI on TCP ports 443 or 5001. Successful use grants full access to system configuration settings and confidential material such as SSL private keys, corresponding to a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 under CWE-798.
The supplied references consist of vendor product pages and a technical disclosure detailing multiple issues in the same product line; none of them describe available patches, configuration workarounds, or official mitigation steps. The associated EPSS score has remained at its observed peak of 0.86 with no documented rise after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-38301
Vulnerability details
WAPPLES through 6.0 has a hardcoded systemi account. A threat actor could use this account to access the system configuration and confidential information (such as SSL keys) via an HTTPS request to the /webapi/ URI on port 443 or 5001.
- 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.