CVE-2024-55557
Published: 16 December 2024
Summary
CVE-2024-55557 is a critical-severity Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798) vulnerability in Microsoft (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 4.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
CVE-2024-55557 is a hardcoded credential vulnerability in Weasis 4.5.1, located in the file ui/pref/ProxyPrefView.java inside the weasis-core component. The code uses a static key for symmetric encryption of proxy credentials, falling under CWE-798 and carrying a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 that reflects network-accessible impact without any authentication or user interaction.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can recover the hardcoded key, decrypt stored proxy credentials, and obtain the associated authentication material. Successful exploitation grants the ability to impersonate the affected user against configured proxies and potentially pivot into connected systems, resulting in complete loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Public references include the Weasis 4.5.1 GitHub release tag and detailed analysis published by partywavesec; the EPSS score has remained steady at 0.2134 with no indicated upward movement after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-52808
Vulnerability details
ui/pref/ProxyPrefView.java in weasis-core in Weasis 4.5.1 has a hardcoded key for symmetric encryption of proxy credentials.
- 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.