Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2024-43208

CVE-2024-43208:
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

NextGen Healthcare Mirth Connect before version 4.4.1 is vulnerable to an unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-43208. This vulnerability stems from an incomplete patch of a previous vulnerability (CVE-2023-37679). The issue was first disclosed by Horizon3.ai in October 2023, and was later added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on May 20, 2024, due to active exploitation (Censys, Hacker News).

Technical details

The vulnerability is related to insecure usage of the Java XStream library for unmarshalling XML payloads, making it easily exploitable. The flaw has received a critical CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with the vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. The vulnerability affects Mirth Connect, which is an open-source healthcare data integration platform used widely in the healthcare industry for data exchange between different systems (NVD).

Impact

A successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated threat actor to execute remote code on affected systems. Given that Mirth Connect is widely adopted in the healthcare industry, a breach could potentially expose sensitive healthcare data and protected patient information. The vulnerability poses significant concerns for patient privacy, healthcare operations, and regulatory compliance (Censys).

Mitigation and workarounds

Organizations are strongly advised to upgrade to Mirth Connect version 4.4.1 or later to address this vulnerability. CISA has mandated federal agencies to implement the patch by June 10, 2024. Additionally, it is recommended to implement network segmentation and access controls to prevent admin interfaces from being exposed to the public internet (Censys).

Community reactions

The vulnerability has garnered significant attention from the cybersecurity community, particularly after CISA's addition to the KEV catalog. The healthcare sector's response has been notably concerned due to the increasing number of ransomware attacks targeting healthcare organizations and the valuable nature of patient information data (Hacker News).