cbcvebase.
CVE-2024-38856
published 2024-08-05

CVE-2024-38856: Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in Apache OFBiz. This issue affects Apache OFBiz: through 18.12.14. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 18.12.15…

PriorityP196critical9.8CVSS 3.1
AVNACLPRNUINSUCHIHAH
KEVITWEXPLOITInitial access
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilitydue 2024-09-17
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
99.43%
99.9th percentile
Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in Apache OFBiz. This issue affects Apache OFBiz: through 18.12.14. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 18.12.15, which fixes the issue. Unauthenticated endpoints could allow execution of screen rendering code of screens if some preconditions are met (such as when the screen definitions don't explicitly check user's permissions because they rely on the configuration of their endpoints).

Affected

3 ranges
VendorProductVersion rangeFixed in
apacheofbiz< 18.12.1518.12.15
apacheofbiz
apache_software_foundationapache_ofbiz<= 18.12.14

Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote

url/webtools/control/main/ProgramExport
url/webtools/control/forgotPassword
commandgroovyProgram=\u0074\u0068\u0072\u006f\u0077\u0020\u006e\u0065\u0077\u0020\u0045\u0078\u0063\u0065\u0070\u0074\u0069\u006f\u006e\u0028\u0027\u0069\u0064\u0027\u002e\u0065\u0078\u0065\u0063\u0075\u0074\u0065\u0028\u0029\u002e\u0074\u0065\u0078\u0074\u0029\u003b
commandgroovyProgram=\u0074\u0068\u0072\u006f\u0077\u0020\u006e\u0065\u0077\u0020\u0045\u0078\u0063\u0065\u0070\u0074\u0069\u006f\u006e\u0028\u0027\u0069\u0070\u0063\u006f\u006e\u0066\u0069\u0067\u0027\u002e\u0065\u0078\u0065\u0063\u0075\u0074\u0065\u0028\u0029\u002e\u0074\u0065\u0078\u0074\u0029\u003b
  • Detect unauthenticated POST requests to the path-traversal endpoint pattern /webtools/control/<view>/ProgramExport, which bypasses authorization by chaining a permitted view (e.g., 'main') with the restricted ProgramExport endpoint.
  • Alert on POST requests to /webtools/control/forgotPassword that contain a ProgramExport path component, indicating exploitation of the controller-view map fragmentation issue.
  • Inspect POST body for the 'groovyProgram' parameter containing Unicode-escaped payloads (e.g., \u0074\u0068\u0072\u006f\u0077) targeting the ProgramExport endpoint, which is the primary RCE delivery mechanism.
  • Flag responses containing 'java.lang.Exception' in the body alongside HTTP 200 status from OFBiz endpoints, which is a strong indicator of successful Groovy script execution via ProgramExport.
  • Use Shodan/FOFA queries to identify exposed OFBiz instances: FOFA app="Apache_OFBiz" and Shodan title:"OFBiz" for attack surface enumeration.
  • CVE-2024-38856 is a patch bypass for CVE-2024-32113, CVE-2024-36104, and CVE-2024-45195 — all sharing the same controller-view map fragmentation root cause. Detections for any of these should be cross-correlated.
  • The execution of user-provided Groovy scripts has inadequate blocklisting — monitor for Groovy script execution patterns (e.g., .execute(), ipconfig, id commands) in OFBiz request bodies.
  • ·Exploitation requires specific preconditions: screen definitions must not explicitly check user permissions, relying instead on endpoint configuration for access control.
  • ·CVE-2024-38856 affects Apache OFBiz through version 18.12.14 only; version 18.12.15 contains the fix. Detections should be scoped to vulnerable version ranges.
  • ·The Nuclei template uses a max of 2 requests and matches on HTTP 200 status combined with body regex — single-condition matches may produce false positives; all three matcher conditions (regex OR, word, status) must be satisfied.

CVSS provenance

nvdv3.19.8CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vulncheck9.8CRITICAL
cisa9.8CRITICAL
vendor_apache9.8CRITICAL
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