CVE-2025-27816
Remediation/Mitigation Strategy for CVE-2025-27816
This document outlines the remediation and mitigation strategy for CVE-2025-27816, a critical vulnerability discovered in Arctera InfoScale.
1. Vulnerability Description:
- CVE ID: CVE-2025-27816
- Affected Product: Arctera InfoScale 7.0 through 8.0.2
- Description: The vulnerability lies in the insecure deserialization of potentially untrusted messages within a .NET remoting endpoint. This affects the Windows Plugin_Host service, which is present on all servers where InfoScale is installed. The service is primarily used when applications are configured for Disaster Recovery (DR) using the DR wizard.
2. Severity:
- CVSS Score: 9.8 (Critical)
- CVSS Vector: (Based on the provided data, we can infer likely values for the CVSS vector, though the full vector isn’t given. A score of 9.8 often corresponds to something like CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
- Severity Justification: A CVSS score of 9.8 signifies a critical vulnerability. The ability to remotely execute arbitrary code via insecure deserialization without authentication can lead to complete system compromise, including data theft, system corruption, and denial of service.
3. Known Exploit & Impact:
- Exploitability: The vulnerability is remotely exploitable (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L). No privileges are required (PR:N) and no user interaction is needed (UI:N).
- Impact: Successful exploitation allows an attacker to achieve complete confidentiality (C:H), integrity (I:H), and availability (A:H) compromise. This means an attacker can:
- Read sensitive data: Access confidential information stored on the affected server.
- Modify data: Alter critical system files, application data, or other sensitive information.
- Deny service: Crash the service or the entire system, causing a denial of service condition.
- Exploit Details: While the specifics of the exploit are not provided, insecure deserialization vulnerabilities are typically exploited by crafting malicious serialized objects that, when deserialized by the vulnerable application, execute arbitrary code. The attacker could leverage this to execute commands on the server as the service account of Plugin_Host.
4. Remediation/Mitigation Strategy:
Given the critical severity and potential impact, the following immediate actions are recommended:
Immediate Mitigation (Highest Priority):
Disable the Plugin_Host Service: The vulnerability report explicitly states that disabling the Plugin_Host service manually will eliminate the vulnerability. This is the recommended immediate mitigation. This can be done through the Windows Services manager (services.msc) or via command line:
Stop-Service Plugin_HostSet-Service Plugin_Host -StartupType Disabled
Note: Disabling the Plugin_Host service will impact Disaster Recovery (DR) functionality if configured using the DR wizard. Carefully assess the impact of disabling this service in your specific environment.
Long-Term Remediation:
- Apply Patches: Contact Arctera support immediately to inquire about a patch or updated version of InfoScale that addresses this vulnerability. Applying a patch is the preferred long-term solution.
- Upgrade to a Secure Version: If a patch is not available, consider upgrading to a more recent version of InfoScale (if available) that incorporates security fixes.
- Review DR Configuration: If you are using the DR wizard and cannot immediately disable the Plugin_Host service, carefully review your DR configuration and network segmentation. Consider isolating the affected servers to limit the potential impact of an exploit.
- Network Segmentation: Implement network segmentation to limit the blast radius of a potential compromise. Restrict network access to the Plugin_Host service to only authorized systems.
- Input Validation and Sanitization: If code changes are possible (e.g., if developing custom plugins), implement robust input validation and sanitization to prevent the injection of malicious serialized objects. However, this might not be possible without the source code of InfoScale and is generally not a viable remediation for third-party software.
Monitoring and Detection:
- Monitor for Suspicious Activity: Monitor network traffic and system logs for any unusual activity that might indicate an attempted exploit. Specifically, look for:
- Unexpected inbound network connections to the Plugin_Host service.
- Malicious process execution originating from the Plugin_Host service.
- Unusual file system activity on the server.
- Implement Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) / Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS): Deploy IDS/IPS solutions that can detect and block known exploits targeting .NET remoting and deserialization vulnerabilities.
- Monitor for Suspicious Activity: Monitor network traffic and system logs for any unusual activity that might indicate an attempted exploit. Specifically, look for:
5. Communication:
- Inform Affected Users: Communicate the vulnerability and the recommended mitigation steps to all relevant stakeholders, including IT administrators, security teams, and business owners.
- Regular Updates: Provide regular updates on the progress of the remediation effort.
6. Verification:
- Test Mitigation: After implementing the mitigation steps (especially disabling the Plugin_Host service), thoroughly test the functionality of the remaining InfoScale components to ensure they are operating as expected.
- Penetration Testing: Consider conducting penetration testing to verify the effectiveness of the mitigation and identify any remaining vulnerabilities. This should be performed by qualified security professionals.
7. Rollback Plan:
Re-enable Plugin_Host (If Disabled): If disabling the Plugin_Host service has an unacceptable impact on DR functionality, document the steps to re-enable the service. Be aware that re-enabling the service will re-introduce the vulnerability if no other remediation steps have been taken.
Set-Service Plugin_Host -StartupType AutomaticStart-Service Plugin_Host
Important Considerations:
- This remediation strategy is based on the information provided in the vulnerability description. The specific steps required may vary depending on your environment and configuration.
- Consult with Arctera support for the most up-to-date information and guidance.
- Prioritize patching or upgrading the software as soon as a fix becomes available.
- This is a high-priority vulnerability. Act quickly to mitigate the risk.
Assigner
- MITRE [email protected]
Date
- Published Date: 2025-03-07 08:15:45
- Updated Date: 2025-03-07 20:15:39