CVE-2018-11172

Vulnerability

Quest DR Series Disk Backup software versions prior to 4.0.3.1 are affected by a command injection vulnerability (issue 30 of 46) [1]. The vulnerability exists in an unspecified component that fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input, allowing injection of operating system commands.

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted requests to the affected software. No authentication is required if the vulnerable endpoint is exposed. The attacker needs network access to the management interface or backup service. The exact steps are not detailed in the available reference [1], but typical command injection involves injecting commands into parameters that are passed to a shell.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system with the privileges of the application (likely root or system level). This can lead to full compromise of the backup server, including data exfiltration, installation of malware, or disruption of backup services.

Mitigation

Quest has released version 4.0.3.1 to address this vulnerability [1]. Users should upgrade to this version or later. No workarounds are mentioned in the reference. If upgrading is not possible, restrict network access to the management interface.