# CVE-2022-46169: Cacti - RCE > Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2022-46169 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network. Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2022-46169 ## Key facts - **Exploitation phase:** Background Noise. Continuous low-level scanning or exploitation attempts are observed, mostly opportunistic and automated. - **CVSS score:** 9.8 - **Public exploit available:** Yes - **Affected products:** Cacti - **Weaknesses:** CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')); CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization); CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')) - **Tags:** enterprise_software ## Description Cacti is an open source platform which provides a robust and extensible operational monitoring and fault management framework for users. In affected versions a command injection vulnerability allows an unauthenticated user to execute arbitrary code on a server running Cacti, if a specific data source was selected for any monitored device. The vulnerability resides in the `remote_agent.php` file. This file can be accessed without authentication. This function retrieves the IP address of the client via `get_client_addr` and resolves this IP address to the corresponding hostname via `gethostbyaddr`. After this, it is verified that an entry within the `poller` table exists, where the hostname corresponds to the resolved hostname. If such an entry was found, the function returns `true` and the client is authorized. This authorization can be bypassed due to the implementation of the `get_client_addr` function. The function is defined in the file `lib/functions.php` and checks serval `$_SERVER` variables to determine the IP address of the client. The variables beginning with `HTTP_` can be arbitrarily set by an attacker. Since there is a default entry in the `poller` table with the hostname of the server running Cacti, an attacker can bypass the authentication e.g. by providing the header `Forwarded-For: `. This way the function `get_client_addr` returns the IP address of the server running Cacti. The following call to `gethostbyaddr` will resolve this IP address to the hostname of the server, which will pass the `poller` hostname check because of the default entry. After the authorization of the `remote_agent.php` file is bypassed, an attacker can trigger different actions. One of these actions is called `polldata`. The called function `poll_for_data` retrieves a few request parameters and loads the corresponding `poller_item` entries from the database. If the `action` of a `poller_item` equals `POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP`, the function `proc_open` is used to execute a PHP script. The attacker-controlled parameter `$poller_id` is retrieved via the function `get_nfilter_request_var`, which allows arbitrary strings. This variable is later inserted into the string passed to `proc_open`, which leads to a command injection vulnerability. By e.g. providing the `poller_id=;id` the `id` command is executed. In order to reach the vulnerable call, the attacker must provide a `host_id` and `local_data_id`, where the `action` of the corresponding `poller_item` is set to `POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP`. Both of these ids (`host_id` and `local_data_id`) can easily be bruteforced. The only requirement is that a `poller_item` with an `POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP` action exists. This is very likely on a productive instance because this action is added by some predefined templates like `Device - Uptime` or `Device - Polling Time`. This command injection vulnerability allows an unauthenticated user to execute arbitrary commands if a `poller_item` with the `action` type `POLLER_ACTION_SCRIPT_PHP` (`2`) is configured. The authorization bypass should be prevented by not allowing an attacker to make `get_client_addr` (file `lib/functions.php`) return an arbitrary IP address. This could be done by not honoring the `HTTP_...` `$_SERVER` variables. If these should be kept for compatibility reasons it should at least be prevented to fake the IP address of the server running Cacti. This vulnerability has been addressed in both the 1.2.x and 1.3.x release branches with `1.2.23` being the first release containing the patch. ## CrowdSec analysis [CVE-2022-46169](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2022-46169) is a critical vulnerability affecting the Cacti monitoring platform, allowing unauthenticated remote code execution through a combination of authorization bypass and command injection. CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 18th of January 2023. CrowdSec network data shows that most actors exploiting CVE-2022-46169 rely on broad, untargeted scans with minimal filtering. The activity is largely automated and opportunistic in nature. Additionally, according to week-over-week analysis by CrowdSec, exploitation of CVE-2022-46169 is surging. Attack volumes are spiking well above historical norms, indicating widespread and escalating interest from threat actors. CVE-2022-46169 is currently experiencing high visibility and active exploitation across the internet. Observed attack patterns focus on the `remote_agent.php` endpoint, typically by attempting to bypass authorization controls to execute arbitrary commands on affected Cacti instances. ## Timeline - 2022-12-05: CVE Published. CVE-2022-46169 is published to NVD. - 2023-01-18: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2022-46169 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network. - 2023-01-18: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2022-46169 for the first time. - 2023-02-16: CISA KEV. CVE-2022-46169 is added to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog by CISA. - 2023-03-09: CISA Remediation Deadline. Expiration of the CISA remediation deadline as described in [BOD 22-01](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-22-01-reducing-significant-risk-known-exploited-vulnerabilities). ## References - https://github.com/Cacti/cacti/security/advisories/GHSA-6p93-p743-35gf - https://github.com/Cacti/cacti/commit/7f0e16312dd5ce20f93744ef8b9c3b0f1ece2216 - https://github.com/Cacti/cacti/commit/a8d59e8fa5f0054aa9c6981b1cbe30ef0e2a0ec9 - https://github.com/Cacti/cacti/commit/b43f13ae7f1e6bfe4e8e56a80a7cd867cf2db52b - https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2022/CVE-2022-46169.yaml ## Live exploitation data The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2022-46169) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2022-46169. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.