CVE-2018-7739
Description
antsle antman before 0.9.1a allows remote attackers to bypass authentication via invalid characters in the username and password parameters, as demonstrated by a username=>&password=%0a string to the /login URI. This allows obtaining root permissions within the web management console, because the login process uses Java's ProcessBuilder class and a bash script called antsle-auth with insufficient input validation.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
antMan before 0.9.1a allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain root access via crafted username and password parameters.
Vulnerability
antMan versions 0.9.0c and earlier contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the /login endpoint. The login process uses Java's ProcessBuilder class to invoke a bash script called antsle-auth as root, passing user-supplied username and password parameters directly into shell commands without proper sanitization. By injecting special characters, an attacker can subvert the authentication logic. The vulnerability affects all antMan versions prior to 0.9.1a [1][2][3].
Exploitation
An unauthenticated attacker with network access to the antMan web interface can exploit this flaw by sending a crafted POST request to /login. The attacker sets the username parameter to > and the password parameter to a URL-encoded linefeed (%0a). This input causes the antsle-auth script to produce unexpected return values, bypassing the password hash comparison and granting access as the root administrative user [1][2][3].
Impact
Successful exploitation grants the attacker root-level permissions within the antMan web management console. This allows full control over the antsle device, including the ability to provision, modify, and delete virtual servers and containers, as well as access sensitive data and system configurations [1][2][3].
Mitigation
The vendor released version 0.9.1a to address this vulnerability. Users should update antMan to 0.9.1a or later immediately. No workarounds are documented, and the vulnerability is not listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog as of the publication date [1][2][3].
AI Insight generated on May 26, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
1Patches
0No patches discovered yet.
Vulnerability mechanics
Root cause
"Insufficient input validation in the antsle-auth bash script allows shell metacharacters to manipulate authentication return values."
Attack vector
An unauthenticated attacker sends a POST request to the `/login` URI with `username` set to `>` and `password` set to a URL-encoded linefeed (`%0a`) [ref_id=1][ref_id=2]. These invalid characters cause the `antsle-auth` bash script to produce return values that the developer did not anticipate, effectively bypassing the authentication check [ref_id=1][ref_id=2]. The attacker is then logged in as the administrative root user with full root permissions within the web management console [ref_id=1][ref_id=2]. The attack requires only network access to the antMan web interface and no prior authentication.
Affected code
The vulnerability resides in the `/login` endpoint of antMan (antsle antman) versions 0.9.0c and earlier. The login process passes user-supplied `username` and `password` parameters to a bash script called `antsle-auth` via Java's `ProcessBuilder` class, running as root [ref_id=1][ref_id=2]. The `antsle-auth` script lacks sufficient input validation on these parameters.
What the fix does
The advisory states that the solution is to update to version 0.9.1a [ref_id=1][ref_id=2]. No patch diff is provided in the bundle, so the exact code changes are not visible. The fix presumably adds proper input validation and sanitization to the `antsle-auth` script or the Java `ProcessBuilder` invocation to reject or escape special shell characters such as `>` and newline characters before passing user input to the shell.
Preconditions
- networkAttacker must have network access to the antMan web management console on the target host.
- authNo authentication is required; the attack is performed against the unauthenticated /login endpoint.
- configThe target must be running antMan version 0.9.0c or earlier.
Reproduction
1. Intercept a login request to the antMan web interface using a web proxy. 2. Modify the POST parameters sent to `/login` as follows: set `username= >` and `password=%0a` (URL-encoded linefeed) [ref_id=1][ref_id=2]. 3. Send the crafted request. The attacker will be authenticated as the administrative root user with root permissions [ref_id=1][ref_id=2].
Generated on May 25, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
3- www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44220/mitreexploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
- www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44262/mitreexploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
- blog.codecatoctin.com/2018/02/antman-authentication-bypass.htmlmitrex_refsource_MISC
News mentions
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