CVE-2024-55556
Published: 07 January 2025
Summary
CVE-2024-55556 is a critical-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Synacktiv (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SC-12 (Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2024-55556 is a deserialization vulnerability (CWE-502) affecting Crater Invoice, a Laravel-based invoicing application. An unauthenticated attacker who knows the application's secret APP_KEY can achieve remote command execution by crafting malicious serialized data inside the encrypted laravel_session cookie, which the server then deserializes without sufficient validation.
The attack requires prior knowledge of the APP_KEY, after which the adversary can decrypt, modify, and re-encrypt the session cookie to trigger arbitrary object instantiation and ultimately execute commands on the server. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8, reflecting network-accessible exploitation with no authentication or user interaction required and full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Public references include the project's GitHub repository and a detailed advisory from Synacktiv that describes the cookie manipulation technique and its prerequisites. The associated EPSS score has reached a peak of 0.8687 with a current value of 0.8658, indicating sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-52807
Vulnerability details
A vulnerability in Crater Invoice allows an unauthenticated attacker with knowledge of the APP_KEY to achieve remote command execution on the server by manipulating the laravel_session cookie, exploiting arbitrary deserialization through the encrypted session data. The exploitation vector of this…
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vulnerability relies on an attacker obtaining Laravel's secret APP_KEY, which would allow them to decrypt and manipulate session cookies (laravel_session) containing serialized data. By altering this data and re-encrypting it with the APP_KEY, the attacker could trigger arbitrary deserialization on the server, potentially leading to remote command execution (RCE). The vulnerability is primarily exploited by accessing an exposed cookie and manipulating it using the secret key to gain malicious access to the server.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Direct unauthenticated RCE via public web app deserialization flaw (CWE-502) on Laravel-based invoice service.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly remediates the arbitrary deserialization flaw in Crater Invoice by identifying, prioritizing, and applying timely patches or updates to prevent RCE exploitation.
Ensures secure establishment, distribution, and protection of cryptographic keys like the APP_KEY to prevent its exposure, which is the critical prerequisite for decrypting and manipulating session cookies.
Validates information inputs such as the laravel_session cookie to detect and reject malformed or malicious serialized data before deserialization processing on the server.