CVE-2024-28115 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting Amazon's FreeRTOS, a real-time operating system designed for microcontrollers. This vulnerability allows for local privilege escalation via Return Oriented Programming (ROP) techniques, particularly impacting ARMv7-M MPU ports and ARMv8-M ports with Memory Protected Unit (MPU) support enabled. The specific versions vulnerable to this issue are those prior to 10.6.2.
The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8, indicating a high level of risk. The urgency for organizations to address this vulnerability is critical, as it can lead to significant impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability if exploited. The flaw was published on March 7, 2024, and has been marked as modified in the CVE database.
Organizations should prioritize patching immediately to prevent unauthorized access that could stem from this vulnerability. The fixed version, 10.6.2, includes a new MPU wrapper that mitigates the identified issues.
The potential exploitation of this vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining updated systems and applying security patches promptly. Failure to do so could expose organizations to local attacks that leverage this privilege escalation vulnerability.
Vulnerability Details
The official description of CVE-2024-28115 states that FreeRTOS Kernel versions through 10.6.1 do not sufficiently protect against local privilege escalation via ROP techniques, should a vulnerability exist that allows code injection and execution. This issue affects ARMv7-M MPU ports and ARMv8-M ports with MPU support enabled (i.e., `configENABLE_MPU` set to 1). These issues have been addressed in version 10.6.2 with a new MPU wrapper.
The CVSS score for this vulnerability is 8.8, classified as high severity. The attack vector is local, requiring low attack complexity and privileges. User interaction is not required, and the scope is changed, indicating that the impact of the attack could affect other components or users.
The vulnerability is classified under CWE-284, indicating improper access control. The publication date of this vulnerability is March 7, 2024, and it has been last modified on November 21, 2024.
Technical Analysis
The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient protection mechanisms within FreeRTOS for handling privilege levels. Attackers may leverage this vulnerability through ROP techniques, allowing them to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The attack vector is local, meaning that an attacker needs to have physical or local access to the device.
The attack complexity is rated as low, indicating that exploiting this vulnerability does not require advanced skills or resources. Privileges required are also low, which further heightens the risk, as it can be exploited by users with minimal access rights.
User interaction is not required, and thus it is possible for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability without requiring any action from legitimate users. The potential impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability are all rated as high, making the exploitation of this vulnerability particularly dangerous.
Risk & Impact Analysis
Risk to organizations includes the potential for unauthorized access and control over affected systems, leading to data breaches, service disruptions, and integrity violations. The blast radius for this vulnerability can be significant, particularly in environments where FreeRTOS is deployed across multiple critical systems or devices.
Given the high CVSS score and the lack of a known workaround, organizations should prioritize this vulnerability in their patch management processes. Delays in addressing this vulnerability could result in increased exposure to local attacks, which could compromise sensitive data and critical operations.
The urgency for remediation is high, considering that this vulnerability could lead to serious operational impacts if not addressed promptly. Organizations must assess their use of FreeRTOS and implement the latest patches as soon as possible.
Exploitation Status
Signal | Status |
|---|---|
Known Exploit | No |
Public PoC | No |
Actively Exploited | No |
Ransomware Use | No |
Affected Versions
The vulnerable versions of FreeRTOS are those prior to version 10.6.2. Organizations should ensure they are running the latest version to mitigate this vulnerability.
Mitigation & Remediation
To mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2024-28115, organizations should upgrade to FreeRTOS Kernel version 10.6.2 or later. This version includes necessary fixes that address the local privilege escalation issues.
In addition to applying patches, organizations should also consider implementing security best practices, such as ensuring that only authorized personnel have physical access to devices running FreeRTOS, and employing monitoring solutions to detect any unauthorized access attempts.
Penetration testing can also be beneficial in identifying vulnerabilities that may not be addressed by standard patching processes.
Detection Guidance
Organizations should monitor for unusual behavior or anomalies in systems running FreeRTOS. Key indicators include unexpected process behavior, unauthorized access attempts, and changes to system configurations.
Logging and monitoring solutions should be implemented to capture relevant events that may indicate exploitation attempts or system misconfigurations.
AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight
The long-term significance of CVE-2024-28115 highlights a trend in embedded systems vulnerabilities, particularly in real-time operating systems. As the adoption of IoT and microcontroller-based applications continues to grow, the security implications of such vulnerabilities must be addressed proactively.
Security teams should take this opportunity to reassess their security posture regarding embedded systems and implement robust security measures to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited in the future.
For further guidance on securing embedded systems, organizations can refer to best practices in penetration testing methodology and continuous security testing strategies.
Organizations should also stay informed about emerging threats and vulnerabilities through ongoing education and engagement with security communities.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
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